Ada Mode launched Windscope, a hardware-free platform for maximizing wind turbine health and availability, after a 9-month beta testing phase. The wind turbine monitoring platform is designed to bring advanced health monitoring technology to asset managers and engineers in the wind energy sector, empowering them to quickly scale up their predictive operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies without a requirement for hardware installation.
Turbine monitoring and AI-driven predictive maintenance are not new concepts for wind farm owners and operators as they seek to minimize downtime, maximize production, and extend the operational lifetime of their assets. However, numerous obstacles continue to frustrate the ambitions of asset managers to roll out advanced health monitoring approaches across their fleets. One of which is the barrier to accessing the wide array of disparate data streams to gain a full oversight of turbine condition and performance, such as Condition Monitoring Systems (CMS) that had been previously installed as part of a previous system or the lack of collaborative data sharing between the turbine manufacturer (OEM), the Independent Service Provider (ISP), and the asset manager.Â
The software platform requires no additional hardware, eliminating the downtime and expense involved in installing monitoring equipment, while being capable of applying AI to existing SCADA and CMS systems. Similarly, where work order management systems exist, Windscope data can be quickly integrated into existing software systems and interfaces.
As such, the turbine monitoring platform can be up and running in as little as two weeks, giving asset management teams access to granular insights that enable them to identify emerging issues, prioritize maintenance activities, and report back to their internal and external stakeholders.Â
For beta user Ventient Energy, Windscope proved successful in identifying a number of issues including Gearbox, Convertor/Transformer, and Sensor faults as well as reporting turbine condition in day-to-day communication with the engineering team and ISP. Following these successful trials, Ventient Energy is now using Windscope on a long-term basis to support its preventative maintenance activities at a number of UK wind farms.
