A brand new hardware-free platform for maximising wind turbine well being and availability – Windscope – launched on 10 October, following a profitable 9-month beta testing section.
The platform, developed by the info science and engineering workforce behind industrial AI firm Ada Mode, is designed to convey superior well being monitoring expertise to asset managers and engineers within the wind power sector, empowering them to rapidly scale up their predictive upkeep methods with no requirement for {hardware} set up.
Turbine monitoring and AI-driven predictive upkeep usually are not new ideas for wind farm homeowners and operators as they search to minimise downtime, maximise manufacturing and prolong the operational lifetime of their property. Nevertheless, quite a few obstacles proceed to frustrate the ambitions of asset managers to roll out superior well being monitoring approaches throughout their fleets.
“One of many essential complications for operators lies in integrating a wide selection of disparate knowledge streams to realize a full oversight of their generators’ situation and efficiency,” stated Joe Donnelly, CEO, Windscope. “That is significantly difficult in multi-technology portfolios, the place bodily Situation Monitoring Programs (CMS) have both been put in as a part of a earlier marketing campaign or should be put in to assist the deployment of a brand new software program platform.”
“One other massive hurdle lies in the best way key efficiency knowledge might be siloed between the turbine producer (OEM), the Impartial Service Supplier (ISP) and the asset supervisor. Lack of collaboration between stakeholders within the O&M course of places a spanner within the works in relation to performing preventative upkeep earlier than failures happen, growing turbine availability, and supporting protected planning of upkeep actions.”
Windscope, constructed by engineers with first-hand expertise managing upkeep programmes throughout each wind and nuclear energy, goals to put the muse for a profitable, scalable predictive O&M technique.
The intuitive software program platform requires no further {hardware}, eliminating the downtime and expense concerned in putting in monitoring gear, whereas being able to making use of AI to current SCADA and CMS methods. Equally, the place work order administration methods exist, Windscope knowledge might be rapidly built-in into current software program methods and interfaces.
As such, the platform might be up and working in as little as 2 weeks, giving asset administration groups entry to granular insights that allow them to establish rising points, prioritise upkeep actions and report again to their inside and exterior stakeholders. In flip, this enhanced knowledge entry can empower extra collaborative and clear relationships between the asset supervisor, the OEM and the ISP.
For beta person Ventient Power, Windscope proved profitable in figuring out a variety of points together with Gearbox, Convertor/Transformer and Sensor faults, a few of which might not in any other case have been caught earlier than failure. Windscope additionally proved invaluable as a method of reporting turbine situation in day-to-day communication with the engineering workforce and ISP – finally decreasing the general burden on the asset supervisor.
Following these profitable trials, Ventient Power is now utilizing Windscope on a long-term foundation to assist its preventative upkeep actions at a variety of UK wind farms.
“Managing an enormous and technologically numerous wind turbine fleet calls for a dynamic strategy to asset administration. Consequently, we’re persistently enhancing our upkeep methods to optimise our time and sources,” said John Morris, Head of Asset Administration (UK) at Ventient Power. “We’ve been significantly impressed by Windscope’s component-level monitoring strategy, which has confirmed very priceless in figuring out and addressing numerous rising faults. Moreover, the system has performed an important function in promptly escalating these points to our engineering workforce and ISP.”
