Jan 23, 2023

Predicting long-term O&M costs for wind farms and reliability of its parts

Developing a system that dynamically estimates the reliability of different wind turbine generator

At a glance

Challenge

Our customer was facing the need to carefully predict the Operations and Maintenance expenditures of the wind farms for the following years due to the rising cost of unscheduled maintenance.

Solution

A system was developed to dynamically estimate the reliability of wind turbine generator components over their lifespan and predict failure rates.

Results

Prediction models account for the technology diversity and geographical spread of wind farms, enabling O&M budgeting for preventive and corrective actions based on expected repairs and maintenance policies.

Our customer was facing the need to carefully predict the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) expenditures of the wind farms for the following years due to the rising cost of unscheduled maintenance.

Development of a system that dynamically estimates the reliability of different wind turbine generator (WTG) components throughout their useful life and predicts the failure rate of the wind turbines.

The factors that significantly influence the reliability have been identified, such as WTG manufacturers, drive train configuration, power class, site and terrain class and wind characterization.

Prediction models take into account the technology diversity and geographical spread of the wind farms, allowing for the O&M budgeting of the wind farms associated with preventive and corrective actions (due to expected repairs and maintenance policies in use).

Case Studies