Enel Green Power has launched a series of initiatives in Italy aimed at improving the efficiency and maintenance processes at its wind farms.
The so-called Wind Big Data Boost project is collating information from over 4000 of the company’s operational turbines, including all its projects in Italy and Spain, to help improve predictive maintenance.
Enel is using artificial intelligence software to test systems that analyse data and identify potential problems at an early stage.
For example, new micro electro mechanical sensors are being tested on turbines on a wind farm in Sicily that monitor the machine from the “inside and provide a complete overview of the situation immediately”, the company said.
It is also trialling new control technology at wind farms in Calabria and Sardinia. At the Sedini project in Sardinia an EU-backed ‘closed loop wind farm control’ project will be tested with the aim of creating algorithms to improve plant efficiency.
Enel is also testing energy storage integration at the 18MW Pietragalla wind farm in Basilicata.
Image: Enel Green Power
Enel puts wind to the test
By EBS