Asset Integrity Management for Aging Wind Turbines
(Room Collaboration Station)
23 May 19
9:15 AM
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10:15 AM
Tracks:
Asset Management and Operational Strategies
Much of the wind generating fleet is less than a decade old, and therefore the impact of equipment age on reliability and performance has not manifested in a significant way. However, as this large fleet of wind assets age, it is expected that the units will degrade in terms of reliability and performance. Some studies have estimated that wind turbines like other rotating equipment tend to lose 1.6+/- 0.2% of their output per years. Our experience as well as literature research confirms that most operators suffer from a lack of detailed failure and reliability data on wind turbine generators. From a design perspective, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400 standard estimates the life of a wind turbine to be a minimum of 20 years. This presentation will discuss industry case studies and the challenge of asset management for wind turbine assets. Experience with asset management programs for wind power plants to mitigate the challenge of - small sample size of failures, complexity of components, site specific variability, and warranty contract expirations, among other items will be provided.