LIFE EXTENSION OF WINDFARMS
FEATURE SPONSOR
INNOVATING IN WINDFARM ASSET MANAGEMENT
With the goal of reaching a strike price of £100/MWh by 2020, offshore wind companies are seeking to reduce both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX), while increasing annual energy production.
Turbine OEMs and suppliers are focusing on investment in innovation, to make next generation windfarms larger and more efficient and reduce CAPEX long-term. However there are still many challenges facing operators as they strive to reduce OPEX and maximise operational efficiency and production, including:
• Reducing unscheduled maintenance • Optimising component repair vs replacement decisions
• Optimising the distribution of power references based upon conditions and damage
• Asset life extension MOVING FORWARD
Fundamental to improvement here, is for operators to develop a quantitative metric of damage accumulated by asset components, and to put processes in place to capitalise on the information captured. This is difficult, as operators are not typically in possession of the detailed design information used to perform an accurate appraisal of integrity.
This problem is not unique to wind energy. Frazer-Nash has extensive experience in developing mathematical models that combine fundamental physics with operational data to help clients manage their assets. In gas turbines, these models are used to optimise operating strategies to minimise creep fatigue and, through doing so, increase production hours. Similarly, they have collaborated with nuclear operators to justify asset life extension. Although the underlying physics changes, the approach is consistent.
MEETING TARGETS
For the wind industry to meet its targets, some innovative steps could focus around the internalisation of modelling approaches from more mature sectors, and the development of supporting decision- making processes. One existing example of this internalisation is in the monitoring of drivetrains.
LEARNING FROM OTHER INDUSTRIES In order to develop processes, again the sector could look elsewhere for inspiration. It is standard practice in some sectors (e.g. oil and gas, defence, aerospace) to employ a probabilistic approach to operation, balancing uncertainty on the estimate of remaining useful life with the impact of a failure.
By adopting this type of approach, information from an early lifing model can still have an impact. As confidence grows in model accuracy, as they are refined with operational data, the value their use adds increases proportionally.
The UK remains a leader in offshore wind with over 5 GW of installed capacity and experience shows it has the potential to optimise the short, medium and long term financial return from these assets.
Frazer-Nash
44
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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