Wind Plant Optimization Solutions- The missing link

Phoenix Contact Live EventEmpowering the Future2020-10-22

© 2020 WindESCo, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Your Optimization Solution Partner

Mo Dua

Founder and CRO

Email: mo@windesco.com

Tel: +1.857.318.4048

www.windesco.com

Create more value from data

While basic monitoring is in place, IPPs needs to adopt advanced analytics to increase plant output

Lower Opex

It is critical to operate plants more efficiently by lowering failures and extending life of main components

Quantify ROI accurately

With OEMs and 3rd parties increasingly proposing upgrades, IPPs risk adopting suboptimal solutions

Work effectively with OEMs

With projects under FSA, IPPs need to leverage data and domain expertise to push OEMs to do better

With falling power prices and increased competition, the economics of wind generation continue to face margin pressure.

IPPs need to adapt rapidly.

Problems and Challenges

Actionable Solutions

Our industry leading analytics go beyond basic reporting to provide continuous performance improvement

Trusted

We work with leading IPPs worldwide on both self and OEM operated plants

High ROI

We provide a high return on investment at a low upfront cost

Measure and Verify

Our energy improvement assessment is approved by DNV-GL

We provide the missing link between SCADA data and business value. Our industry leading analytics increase plant output while lower operating expense

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22Customers

Founded in 2014

Our Customers

Annual Value created by WindESCo for its Customers ($M/GW/Yr)

Average$3.2M/GW/Yr

Low$1.3M/GW/Yr

High$7.9M/GW/Yr

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WindESCo Solutions

Basic Advanced

Assess AEP potential by enabling “social” turbines that work collectively

to improve wind plant output

Scalable and cost-effective solution to increase output 1%- 7% by parameter

optimization

Increase OutputEvaluate Wake Steering

Potential

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Sidrap Wind Project

Location

Capacity

O&M Contract

Warranty Status

Southeast Asia

79 MW

OEM Full-Service Agreement

Under Warranty with OEM

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The ProblemIn 2019, UPC Renewables’ new 79 MW wind plant was

generating less-than-expected revenues compared to pre-

construction estimates.

The wind plant was not meeting its P50 projection and

turbines were failing their power curve tests.

No solution was being offered by the OEM to address

the issues and increase production.

Solutions That Work

WindESCo approached us early on and it was

immediately apparent that they understood our

problems and began offering real solutions right away.

Aaron Pritchard,

Technical Director & Operations Manager

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Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems can be mounted

on top of the nacelle to gauge wind direction in front of the rotor.

LiDAR uses laser beams directed upwind of the turbine to determine

wind speed and yaw misalignment.

LiDAR

● Continuous monitoring of wind

speed and direction

● Very expensive and must be moved from turbine to turbine

● Results from a few turbines cannot be applied universally

● Must be aligned perfectly with the nacelle

● Equipment must be sent for periodic maintenance

● Good for R&D, but not as a scalable solution

Pros

Cons

Source: Windar Photonics

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The SolutionWe determined that WeBoost Basic would be cost-

effective, scalable, and provide immediate ROI for

UPC Renewables.

WeBoost Basic is a comprehensive wind farm AEP

improvement solution which leverages SCADA data

to increase AEP between 1–7%. WeBoost Basic

requires no hardware and provides analytics beyond

existing asset monitoring platforms.

Throughout the process we worked closely with UPC

Renewables to recommend optimized parameters, to

verify that were implemented correctly, and to

calculate the gains in energy output.

Solutions That Work

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MonitoringEnergy

Improvement Assessment

ImplementationWeBoost Analytics

Implementing WeBoost Basic

Data integration to provide SCADA data for

selected tags to WindESCo

Data Integration

Apply WeBoost Analytics to provide

actionable recommendations to

project owners

Support owners in implementing

recommendations at the wind plant

Calculate the improvement in plant output from deployed

optimizations

Provide continuous monitor to ensure that

turbines are always producing optimized

power output

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FIND FIX MEASURE

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WeBoost Basic AnalyticsAfter collecting enough data, we performed

analytics consisting of proprietary SCADA data

checks.

3 checks came out as requiring further investigation.

Working with UPC Renewables, we determined that

addressing Static Yaw Misalignment would provide

the best short-term value.

2 additional recommendations were identified for

further improvement.

SCADA Data

10-Point Check Results

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How Turbines Adjust to Changes in Wind Direction

Any measured difference between wind direction

and nacelle position is called yaw error (Figure 1).

When the turbine is pointing directly into the wind,

yaw error should measure 0°.

When yaw error is too large for too long, the turbine

controller signals the yaw motors to move the

nacelle back to 0°, realigning it with the wind.

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Static yaw misalignment occurs when measured yaw error

is 0°, but the turbine is not pointing directly into the wind.

The turbine cannot see the difference between

measurement and reality, making the misalignment

invisible to the turbine controller (Figure 2).

This type of misalignment can have negative effects on

your wind project.

Static Yaw Misalignment

FIGURE 4

Your turbines produce the most energy when the

rotor is perpendicular to the wind direction.

Static yaw misalignment compromises your

turbines’ performance by lowering AEP and

increasing loads leading to decreased operating

margins.

WhyYaw Misalignment Matters?

Click to Watch the Vlog!

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The bigger your misalignment, the lower your

power output.

Our analysis has shown that loss of power

typically varies with the square of the cos(𝜃).

● 4° yaw misalignment leads to a 0.5% loss

in output

● 10° misalignment can lead to a 2.6% loss

in power output

Sites with lower wind speed tend to show a

greater percentage improvement in output

because turbines spend more time in region 2

(Figure 6).

Power Output

Loss in output for different degrees of yaw misalignment for sites with different average wind speeds.

Sometimes, static yaw misalignment is caused by your hardware.

Common physical issues that cause static yaw misalignment include:

Hardware Issues

Physical misalignment

between nacelle anemometer

and nacelle neutral axis.

This issue may occur if the

anemometer is not aligned correctly

during installation, or it has been

moved, adjusted, or bumped during

turbine service or repairs.

Change in wind direction due

to wind flow through the

rotor plane.

Wind flow across the rotor plane

changes the observed wind

direction downwind of the rotor. If

this is not accounted for, it will lead

to misalignment.

Even when there are no hardware issues present, your software issues may

cause static yaw misalignment. Common software causes include:

Software Issues

Incorrect nacelle transfer

function (NTF).

Some turbines use a nacelle transfer

function (NTF) to account for wind

flow across the rotor. Typically, a

single NTF is used for all turbines on

a farm. If the NTF is incorrect or out

of calibration, it can lead to

yaw misalignment.

Incorrect yaw offset

parameter.

Some wind plants apply a generic

offset for all turbines of a particular

model, usually based on a LiDAR

campaign on a few turbines. While

this has the potential of addressing

part of the problem, it can make the

problem worse for some turbines, if

their misalignment is different.

A data-based approach has recently emerged as an alternative to the expensive,

difficult to install, and often unreliable hardware-based detection systems.

Data-based solutions require no additional hardware as they use the turbine’s

own SCADA data to estimate and correct yaw misalignment.

SCADA Data-Based Detection Solutions

● Requires owner to have access to SCADA data

● No downtime or additional equipment

● Ability to scale the number of turbines being analyzed

● Results available within a few months

● Provides continuous monitoringPros

Cons

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Yaw Misalignment FindingsOut of 30 turbines, we determined that 27 were

experiencing greater than 2° of static yaw

misalignment and needed correction.

We worked with UPC Renewables to not just

implement our recommendations, but also to provide

feedback to confirm the recommended offsets were

implemented correctly.

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Common Approachesfor Energy Improvement Assessment

Hardware-Based Power Curves

Nacelle Power Curves

SCADA Data-Based Side-by-Side Analysis

02

01

03

Nacelle anemometer

Met tower, LiDAR

Test and Control turbines

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Energy Improvement Assessment

Optimized Data

After implementing any performance improvement recommendation

or upgrade, it is extremely important to calculate the increase in plant

output. Traditional validation techniques are too uncertain—similar

to using a tape measure instead of a caliper.

Our proprietary approach to calculate improvement in output

provides reliable results with low uncertainty. This approach has been

proven on multiple projects.

Increased Energy Production

- 𝚺

Baseline Model

Independent Engineer Approved

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WeBoost Basic - Case Study

2%Validated increase in AEP

2% Improvement in plant output

$5,700/MW/Yr

Revenue Increase

Customer

Capacity

O&M Contract

Warranty Status

UPC Renewables

79 MW

OEM Full-Service Agreement

Under Warranty with OEM

DOWNLOAD CASE STUDY HERE

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WeBoost Advanced

No communication between turbines

leads to lost revenue

Existing Farms

WindESCo has developed a unique system to make

existing farms cooperative and intelligent

Social Wind Farms

Upwind turbines inform downwind turbines,

stronger turbines protect weaker turbines

Protection

WeProtect

Developed in collaboration with Phoenix Contact

Measures the movement of blades to determine wind

conditions

Required on a few turbines at a wind farm, not all turbines

Wind resource is too complex to quantify

using nacelle anemometer only

So we developed the WeSense

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© 2020 WindESCo, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Your Optimization Solution Partner

Questions?

Mo Dua

Founder and CRO

Email: mo@windesco.com

Tel: +1.857.318.4048

www.windesco.com