Satellite IoT Meeting Data Collection Gaps for Wind Turbines in Remote Locations
Renewable Revolution and the Pitfalls of Negligent Maintenance
The energy landscape is transforming, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) reports a surge in renewable energy adoption, with the world expected to add as much renewable power in the next five years as it did in the past two decades. Wind and solar energy, in particular, will constitute over 90% of the renewable power capacity added globally over the next half-decade, according to the IEA.
This shift brings up some pressing questions, especially for wind energy production in Europe. In 2022, solar and wind power generated approximately 22% of Europe's electricity, exceeding fossil gas for the first time. However, many wind farms situated in remote areas are susceptible to severe weather, power outages, and downtime due to inadequate maintenance.
Inadequate planning for maintenance can impose significant challenges on renewable energy providers. Research by Wood Mackenzie Power in 2019 found that $8.5 billion was spent on costly and avoidable repairs and corrections caused by component failures in wind operations. By utilizing sensors for predictive maintenance, providers can potentially reduce these costs and mitigate unplanned downtime.
Harvesting Data with SCADA
For each wind farm, onshore or offshore, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data is collected. This includes weather data, turbine parameters, and system errors, normally reported every ten minutes. This historical SCADA data is of tremendous value in generating an effective, data-driven approach to monitoring turbine performance, identifying patterns, and predicting failures to allow for better predictive maintenance planning and reduced downtime. In real-time, satellite-driven data monitoring rapidly delivers these insights to engineers, maintenance managers, and data scientists, enabling them to take proactive measures to improve the challenges of remote wind turbine data monitoring.
Going Global with Satellite IoT Connectivity
Unlike cellular or fiber connectivity, which is often not feasible due to the remote locations of wind farms, satellite IoT offers a reliable and global solution for remote data monitoring. This solution encompasses individual turbines to whole wind farms, ensuring continual optimization and monitoring of wind energy output.
IoT Pro terminals, previously known as BGAN M2M, are designed to connect monitoring and control applications in remote, unmanned locations like wind farms. Remote management of the terminals is possible via SMS, eliminating the requirement for onsite maintenance crews and thus reducing unplanned downtime and costs.
Cost-Effective Monitoring with SCADASat
SCADASat by TSAT enables renewable energy providers to cost-effectively and reliably transmit remote SCADA, telemetry, and M2M data in a secure network. The platform is highly scalable, offering low operating costs compared to installing and maintaining fiber connectivity. It is compatible with both IP and legacy serial devices, operating independently from terrestrial communications systems and ensuring transmission at all times.
Bridging the Gap with IoT Pro
Operating on both Viasat IoT Pro and 2G/3G/LTE networks, these devices keep data flowing to enable predictive maintenance. While wind farm resilience against severe weather remains under test, the challenges of power outage predictions and production downtime due to inadequate maintenance can be addressed by adopting IoT Pro solutions.
Overcoming Monitoring Challenges with Satellite IoT
At Ground Control, we strive to help our customers achieve an accurate, real-time, 360-degree view of their data and operations—anywhere and everywhere. If you're searching for impartial advice on the best device and airtime for your data monitoring requirements, you've come to the right place. With 20 years of experience, we're confident we can help.
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- The surge in renewable energy adoption, particularly wind and solar, is driving a transformative energy landscape, as reported by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
- Inadequate maintenance planning in the renewable energy sector has led to significant costs, as indicated by a 2019 research by Wood Mackenzie Power, with over $8.5 billion spent on avoidable repairs caused by component failures in wind operations.
- Predictive maintenance, facilitated by sensors and data collected through Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, can potentially reduce these costs and minimize unplanned downtime.
- SCADA data, including weather data, turbine parameters, and system errors, collected for each wind farm, is vital for monitoring turbine performance, identifying patterns, and predicting failures.
- Satellite IoT connectivity, unlike cellular or fiber connectivity, offers a reliable and global solution for remote data monitoring, ensuring continual optimization and monitoring of wind energy output.
- IoT Pro terminals, designed for remote, unmanned locations like wind farms, enable remote management of the terminals, reducing unplanned downtime and costs.
- SCADASat by TSAT provides a cost-effective and secure solution for transmitting remote SCADA, telemetry, and M2M data, operating independently from terrestrial communications systems.
- Adopting IoT Pro solutions can address the challenges of power outage predictions and production downtime due to inadequate maintenance, contributing to the overall resilience of wind farms.
