Increasing global dependence on electricity is a given. Every year communities around the world add new technologies aimed at improving everything from communication to transportation to manufacturing. As a result, the need for an increase in renewable power generation is expanding at an unheard-of pace. While photovoltaic solar might be the most obvious example of renewable generation capturing a greater market share, wind turbines also contribute significantly to the influx of renewable sources.
One of the key reasons for the increase in focus on wind generation, explains Thomas Andersen in an article in North American Clean Energy, is the preexisting infrastructure dotting the landscape. Shifting regulations make it increasingly difficult to build new turbines. However, thousands of legacy turbines are already in place. The problem, of course, is that many are out of date and can be from a wide range of manufacturers. Fortunately, there’s a solution:
“The most effective utilities are finding that the best way to reduce complexity is to build a common platform using a fit-for-purpose green energy software portfolio providing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), asset performance management (APM), and maintenance and diagnostics (M&D) solutions.”
History created complexity
Much of the complexity and variety in existing wind infrastructure comes from two key elements: cost savings and minimal long-term planning. Typically, wind farms would purchase turbines from the manufacturer offering the lowest cost at the time of purchase. That means a single farm can have many different makes and models of turbine. Each different manufacturer typically has its own control software, meaning operators and technicians need to navigate many different interfaces to stay on top of their technology.
Moreover, many teams didn’t perform site assessments when legacy turbines were initially installed, so it is common to have a turbine installed that isn’t a great fit for its environment. That means the components wear faster, and production is typically sub-optimal.
A unified solution
Utilities can build custom, homebrew solutions to unify their control; however, that process is complex, time-consuming, and expensive. A better solution is to use a unified green energy control architecture such as the green SCADA solutions available in the Ovation™ Green platform. Ovation Green SCADA uses
“custom protocols, built to interface directly with nearly every wind turbine on the market to collect tens of thousands of data points from each asset. Armed with all the data they need, teams can optimize their entire process for maintenance and operation. Operators and technicians can see which parameters have been changed over time, and how the changes contribute directly to asset availability.”
But better visibility is only part of the picture. Ovation Green SCADA offers more powerful control options as well, helping teams better customize their operations to their unique circumstances.
A clearer roadmap to a sustainable future
Ultimately, comprehensive control solutions like Ovation Green SCADA help owners and operators minimize the complexity of the ever-changing green energy landscape. Whether it is navigating changing regulations around new construction or meeting the needs of an ever-changing grid, utilities can feel more confident with more granular control and cohesive, intuitive operation of their assets.
