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ABSTRACT As a considerable number of operational wind farms worldwide approach their end‐of‐life (EOL), critical decisions regarding their future will need to be made, including whether to repower, life‐extend, or decommission wind turbine assets. To aid in derisking this process and provide necessary information for EOL decision‐making and asset management, this paper investigates the failure rates and maintenance records of aging wind farms approaching their EOL. Focusing on two onshore wind farms in North Africa that have reached 20 years of service, we analyze multi‐year operations and maintenance (O&M) records to determine failure rates and downtimes of various wind turbine subassemblies and draw comparisons with key published O&M statistics in the literature. Furthermore, we investigate temporal patterns and correlations in failure rates and provide insights on the various failure modes for subassembilies with the highest contributors to the overall failure rate. Finally, we conduct cost‐criticality analyses to support the quantification of commercial risks as part of the information necessary for EOL decision‐making. A unique aspect of this research is its emphasis on the EOL phase of O&M in wind farms, in contrast to the vast body of literature that focuses on earlier operational phases. The results reveal distinct patterns of failure rates and identify the hydraulic system, sensors, and electrical system to be the most failure‐prone subassemblies. Meanwhile, the gearbox, the generator, and the hydraulic system are found to bear the highest economic risk at EOL. This analysis provides essential insights to aid O&M planners and managers in making better informed asset management decisions during the EOL phase, without directly dictating the optimal course of action.
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Design for Repowering of Wind Farms: An Initial Framework
Abstract The need for clean and cost-effective energy sources is more pertinent than ever. Wind energy positions itself as a global contender in this role, offering a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly energy option. Furthermore, the wind energy industry is already starting to see numerous wind farms reaching 20+ years of life that require either repowering or decommissioning decisions to be made. Repowering offers many potential economic and sustainable benefits; however, many operators are faced with challenging decisions regarding whether to repower and how to optimally repower. This paper aims to address these challenges by introducing a novel comprehensive framework, known as “Design for Repowering”. In Design for Repowering, wind farms of the future would be designed with planned repowering in mind. Through integration of multiple criteria, including health monitoring/sensors, digital twins, and social/environmental factors, we aim to address open questions about repowering, such as the optimal timing, strategy, and economics of repowering decisions. Furthermore, the framework is applied to several case studies, illustrating its potential for solving some of the long-term challenges expected in the future of wind energy.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1916776
- PAR ID:
- 10658500
- Publisher / Repository:
- IOP Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Physics: Conference Series
- Volume:
- 2767
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 1742-6588
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 082009
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2767/8/082009
