The wind energy sector has become a cornerstone of the global push toward renewable energy, but to maximize its potential, wind farm owners and operators must navigate various challenges. Preventive maintenance ensures wind turbines operate at peak efficiency and reliability throughout their life cycles. In this post, we’ll discuss the strategies that drive successful proactive maintenance, focusing on advanced technologies, SCADA data analytics, and how automation can optimize operations for long-term success.
To provide insight into these strategies, we spoke with Paula Perez, Senior Wind Engineer at Nuveen Infrastructure Clean Energy, which operates a large onshore wind fleet across Europe. Perez has over 10 years of experience in wind operations and maintenance and has played a pivotal role in shaping maintenance strategies for large-scale wind energy projects. Her insights offer a valuable perspective on the evolving wind energy landscape.
The Importance of Proactive Maintenance
Proactive maintenance is the practice of preventing trouble before it causes significant damage or downtime. Unlike reactive maintenance, which only addresses problems after they’ve occurred, predictive maintenance helps spot obstacles early so wind projects can continue operating smoothly without costly interruptions. Using predictive analytics, wind turbine owners can avoid common operational failures, like undetected turbine derations, malfunctions of lightning protection systems (LPS), and drivetrain component wear.
Perez highlights the importance of recognizing potential complications early: “We encourage OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and service providers to meet wind farm owners as much as possible to understand our needs. In the end, we are an investment company, but we also have a very knowledgeable team of engineers. I think the turbines and the challenges the turbines are facing these days are more and more complex and that requires the OEMs and service providers to actively supply more information and more documentation on the challenges that we are facing.”
Leveraging Analytics and AI in Wind Energy
The wind energy industry increasingly adopts modern analytics to elevate turbine performance for long-term success. Tools like Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data analysis, machine learning, predictive analytics, fault detection, and vibration monitoring empower operators to track turbine health in real time, detect anomalies, and address budding troubles before they lead to costly failures. SkySpecs leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze SCADA data, pinpointing turbine components that need attention to allow operators to make data-driven decisions that minimize downtime and reduce maintenance costs.
Perez further emphasizes how AI can pinpoint obstacles early, noting, “The way we see AI developing is mainly in two areas. The first one is about the optimization of manual tasks to allow people to focus more on efficient tasks and tasks which have better impact or more impact. I would say the second one is to identify, in a quicker and more preventive way, issues. I can give you the example of internal blade inspections. These days, the largest OEMs are using robots and cameras to identify minor cracks, which, in the end, a technician reviews if that’s indeed a crack or an incident or early-stage damage.”
Blade Maintenance and Repair: A Preemptive Approach to Wind Power Generation
One of the most critical elements of wind turbine maintenance is blade care. Blades are exposed to harsh environmental conditions and can sustain significant damage over time, particularly from leading edge erosion, lightning strikes, and wear from abrasive winds. Regular inspections and timely repairs are essential to keep blades in optimal condition.
According to Perez, “We are at the moment seeing many issues with blades from leading edge erosion to some gluing issues on the trailing edge. We are seeing lightning protection systems not working as they should. We are seeing many lightning impacts that we are working on to prevent in some very key areas or countries such as Italy. So, we have quite a variety of different problems with blades. I would say external but also internal. We work in the end with the main OEMs, and they have their challenges.”
SkySpecs uses automated drone technology to conduct external blade inspections, yielding fast and reliable data that would otherwise require technicians to climb turbines manually. Through high-resolution imaging, drones can discern small cracks or erosions that may become major barriers if left unchecked. Lightning protection systems are also vital to blade integrity, and SkySpecs confirms these systems are functioning correctly by leveraging advanced monitoring tools.
Tackling Wind Farm Challenges with Defensive Strategies
SkySpecs helps wind farm operators track trends like increasing temperature readings or irregular vibration patterns. These trends can signal potential drawbacks requiring immediate attention, allowing operators to act before the situation escalates.
Optimizing Wind Power Operations Through Data and Technology
Efficiently managing wind operations is a constant balancing act of addressing emerging problems while improving turbine performance. The data collected through SCADA systems and other monitoring tools is critical for understanding how turbines function at any given time. Operators can maximize energy production by identifying and correcting inefficiencies early.
By investing in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics in wind energy, operators can unlock new efficiencies that weren’t possible with older, manual methods. For example, AI can help track trends across multiple turbines, allowing operators to locate patterns that could indicate a more considerable setback across the fleet. This predictive capability enables operators to prioritize issues significantly impacting energy production and cost.
Strategies for Preventing Common Wind Turbine Failures
- Leading edge erosion: Turbine blades can suffer from leading edge erosion over time, affecting aerodynamic efficiency. By scheduling regular inspections and repairing minor snags early, operators can prevent these from evolving into larger, costlier problems.
- Lightning protection systems: Having turbines equipped with adequately functioning LPS is crucial. In regions prone to lightning strikes, ineffective LPS can lead to significant blade damage. Regular LPS inspections verify the system is functioning correctly.
- Advanced analytics: Using advanced tools, like SkySpecs Performance, can give a much more comprehensive view of turbine health. These insights enable wind farm operators to make smarter, data-driven decisions regarding maintenance schedules and resource allocation.
- Blade maintenance: Regular inspections and repairs are essential to keeping blades in prime condition. SkySpecs helps operators monitor blades for cracks, erosion, and other issues using drones and automated technologies.
SkySpecs: Partnering to Shape Your Long-Term Success Strategy
A strong preventive maintenance strategy is key to elevating operations for maximum efficiency and life span. By investing in advanced technologies like AI, wind turbine analytics, and automated blade inspections, operators can confirm ideal fleet performance throughout the life cycle.
At SkySpecs, we are committed to supporting wind farm owners with cutting-edge tools that detect complications early and impart actionable insights that drive better maintenance decisions. Our comprehensive tactic, from blade maintenance and repair to advanced data analytics, ensures your turbines are always in peak condition, reducing downtime and maximizing renewable energy production.
According to Perez, “SkySpecs is a key company for companies like us in moving infrastructure to clean energy. Companies like SkySpecs help us a lot to identify the performance to identify curtailments that we ultimately flag to the OEMs. You guys have also helped us with pitch misalignments, any kind of funding performance, and to be on top of any issues that we are seeing. We are ultimately the owners of the project, even though we have full-service contracts with the main OEMs. It’s our duty to be able to prove that we are on top of any technical issues, and we can only do it with the support of companies like SkySpecs.”
By implementing a solid maintenance strategy, wind farm operators can address common pitfalls like leading edge erosion, lightning protection failures, and underperformance before they result in costly repairs. Ultimately, this predictive approach helps extend the life of turbines, enhance wind energy operations, minimize downtime, and improve the profitability and sustainability of wind energy production.
Contact us today to see how SkySpecs can help optimize wind operations and discover how our advanced solutions can improve performance.
