A new European project has been launched aiming to improve the design of offshore wind turbine components by extracting and analysing operational data from wind farms.
The €1m Digitalization Of Critical Components in OFFshore wind turbines (DOCC-OFF) initiative will demonstrate the impact of sensing and remote monitoring in the optimisation of design of offshore wind components.
DOCC-OFF, led by the Basque Energy Cluster in Spain, is financed by the EU’s Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
The project will use information and findings extracted from operational data of offshore wind turbine components to improve the design of these components, increasing their reliability, productivity, energy efficiency as well as improving understanding of how the interaction with other components under real operating conditions.
DOCC-OFF will validate and demonstrate the sensors, remote monitoring systems and big data analytics tools required to obtain data from components and to extract value from them to deliver the project’s defined objectives.
Wind turbine manufacturers have already started to implement sensors and data collection systems in the wind turbines they are providing and installing.
However, efficient proven concepts have not been demonstrated yet, due to technological and data access challenges, according to DOCC-OFF.
It stated “significant” technology validation is still needed to achieve new products and services ready for commercialisation, with sensors and remote monitoring systems yet to be extensively implemented in offshore wind plants.
Access to the data collected from the wind energy turbines in operation is limited only to wind farm developers and turbine makers, according to DOCC-OFF.
Most European components suppliers cannot obtain, manage, analyse and learn from the performance data produced by their components in real-life operation, missing the opportunity to improve their competitiveness as well as add more value to products through digitisation.
DOCC-OFF focuses on addressing the technology gap in the pitch system digitisation and the real data availability for a reliable validation and demonstration process.
The DOCC-OFF partners are offshore wind component supplier HI HINE Renovables, data analytics company, NEM Solutions, Belgian turbine research and test centre SIRRIS-OWI-Lab and Basque Energy Cluster.