A Road Map to Successful and Conclusive Wind Turbine Improvement Projects
In times of zero subsidy bids and lowest cost of energy competition in the wind industry the margins of wind farm business cases are becoming rather tight. It is not enough anymore to simply keep the availability of the wind turbines at a reliable and high level to meet the business case expectations. This paves the way for wind turbine optimisation measures to regain the losses of 5 to 15% that a wind turbine might suffer and to tap additional performance potential hidden in the turbine design. In addition, there is usually an indirect added value, as such improvement measures usually not only increase the annual energy production (AEP) but also might reduce loads and stress in the wind turbine components. This article describes which particular rotor-based, wind turbine performance optimisation measures are available today, how to validate the AEP gains and how to get support to implement AEP improvements at scale (fleetwide) by means of monitoring and data analysis platforms – in this particular case, Power Factors’ Drive platform, a technical asset management and computerised maintenance management system.By Karl Fatrdla, Power Factors and Karl Fatrdla Consulting, Austria