NIWE issues the Type Certificate as per 'IS/IEC 61400-22 Wind Turbines Part 22 Conformity Testing and Certification'.

Type certification is a modular approach consisting of modules namely Design Basis Evaluation, Design Evaluation, Type Testing, Manufacturing Evaluation and Final evaluation.

The modules are illustrated in Figure given below. Satisfactory evaluation of each module is concluded with an evaluation report and a conformity statement.

A type certificate is issued for a wind turbine designed and evaluated for conformance with the technical requirements of IS/IEC 61400-22 and IEC 61400-1, on the basis of the completeness and correctness of a final evaluation report.

The issue of Type certificate to a Wind Turbine Model under the Certification Scheme operated by NIWE is determined by the results of conformity assessment through Evaluation and provided documents are conforms to the requirements specified in the certification scheme and the applicant has fulfilled all other conditions.

Before issuing a certificate the following must be addressed:

• All evaluation reports shall be prepared and signed by the engineer(s) who have verified the documentation.
• The signed evaluation reports must be reviewed and signed by another qualified engineer.
• Certification Engineer, based on the evaluation reports, shall prepare the conformity statements and final evaluation report. Project Leader shall review the conformity statements and the final evaluation report. The final evaluation report concludes the certification process with an appropriate recommendation that a Wind Turbine is 'recommended' for certificate, with or without outstanding issues, or 'not recommended'. The final evaluation report and the conformity statements are approved by the Project Manager.
• Based on the approval of the final evaluation report and the conformity statements, the certificate shall be prepared by Project Leader and reviewed by the Project Manager. The certificate shall be prepared as per the format. The PM/Head and PL shall sign the conformity statements, final evaluation reports and the certificate.
• Administrative approval of Director General(DG) shall be sought by Head for grant of certificate. A note for approval shall be sent to DG, along with the certificate, the conformity statements and the final evaluation report. Upon approval from DG the project completion report shall be sent to Finance & Administration (F&A) unit. F&A unit shall send an invoice to the client as per the contract. Certification Division shall issue the certificate upon receiving intimation from F&A regarding the receipt of the payment.
• Upon approval of grant of the certificate the client will be informed about the conclusion regarding the Certificate. In case grant of certificate is approved upon receipt of the final payment the Certificate shall be issued to the client. If the conclusion of certification does not recommend issue of Certificate, the client shall be informed about the same.
• The project leader shall prepare a letter to the client explaining the outstanding issues, if any, and what is expected from the client, to close the outstandings within the stipulated time period.

NIWE is funded by Government of India (GoI).

The certification work is carried out in three stages viz. pre evaluation, evaluation and certification. Each stage fee is estimated based on the approved methodology of NIWE and depends on the scope of the work. The fee is communicated to the client and consent of the client is obtained before the commencement of the project.

General and particular requirements for obtaining the NIWE Certification are given in the following three documents, all of which have to be accepted by the manufacturer desirous of obtaining the certification.

• Documentation requirements specified in IS/IEC 61400-22:2010
• Agreements
• Schedule of Certification Fee

Any changes in design/manufacturing quality system are to be approved by certification body. Certificate losses its validity, if any change introduced without the Approval of the Certification Body.

Maintenance

The certificate shall be maintained by the Certification Division. The project number, name of the client and the certificate number are entered in a register. Enquiries from any interested party seeking information about the authenticity; validity etc. shall be addressed by the division.

Extension

The certificates are valid as per the norms laid down in the certification scheme. The validity is normally for five years. At the end of the validity period the renewal of the certificates shall be taken up as per the procedures for renewal. However, depending on the outstanding issues of the certificate, the certificate may be issued with a short validity period (not exceeding one year). In such cases, the extension of the certificates shall be addressed upon resolving the outstanding satisfactorily. The control and decision process described above shall be followed. However, the necessity for preparation of new or revised evaluation reports, conformity statements, and the final evaluation reports shall be considered as per the requirements on case to case basis. Either a new certificate or a letter informing the extension of the certificate shall be issued.

Suspension

During the validity period of the certificate, damages, failures or deviations, if any, of the Wind Turbine certified are reported to the certification division either by the certificate holder or by any interested /affected party or the certification division found during spot inspection, the division shall carry out an immediate verification. A verification report shall be prepared. If the verification reveals that the failure or damage is affecting the safety or structural integrity of the Wind Turbine the certificate shall be suspended immediately by the Division.

If certification is suspended, the project manager / project leader shall communicate to the client that the action needed to end suspension and restore certification as per the scheme requirement including any other actions required.

Withdrawal

Upon suspension of the certificate, a thorough investigation of the failure or damage shall be carried out. An investigation report shall be prepared. Based on the recommendation of the report the certificate shall be dealt with for withdrawal. The procedure described for grant of certificate shall be followed, based on the investigation report, for withdrawal. The certificate shall be re-issued upon incorporating the changes, modifications by the client to resolve the problems identified in the investigation report and upon satisfactory evaluation, by the certification division, of the changes/modifications incorporated. In such cases NIWE shall make necessary modifications in the certificate and also in the website.