How do you control costs and risks for wind turbines?

1 Design choices

The design of a wind turbine affects its initial capital cost, its energy output, and its lifetime. Some of the design choices that can influence these variables are the size, shape, and material of the blades, the type and configuration of the generator, the tower height and structure, and the control system. To make optimal design choices, you need to consider the site-specific wind conditions, the grid requirements, the environmental impacts, and the trade-offs between complexity and efficiency. For example, larger blades can capture more wind energy, but they also increase the weight and stress on the turbine, requiring stronger and more expensive materials and components.

2 Operation optimization

The operation of a wind turbine depends on the wind speed, direction, and turbulence, as well as the grid demand and price. To optimize the operation of a wind turbine, you need to monitor and adjust the pitch, yaw, and speed of the blades, the power output and voltage of the generator, and the connection and disconnection of the turbine to the grid. These adjustments can be done manually or automatically, depending on the level of automation and intelligence of the control system. The goal is to maximize the energy production and revenue, while minimizing the mechanical and electrical losses and stresses.

3 Maintenance planning

The maintenance of a wind turbine involves regular inspections, repairs, and replacements of the various components, such as the blades, gearbox, bearings, generator, cables, sensors, and brakes. The maintenance of a wind turbine can be costly and risky, especially for offshore turbines that are exposed to harsh weather and sea conditions. To plan the maintenance of a wind turbine, you need to estimate the failure probability and severity of each component, the downtime and cost of each intervention, and the availability and accessibility of the resources and personnel. The maintenance plan can be based on fixed intervals, condition monitoring, or predictive modeling, depending on the data and tools available.

4 Risk assessment

The risk assessment of a wind turbine involves identifying, analyzing, and evaluating the potential hazards and uncertainties that can affect its performance, reliability, and safety. Some of the common risks for wind turbines are blade erosion and fatigue, gearbox failure, lightning strike, fire, ice accretion, bird collision, vandalism, theft, and grid instability. The risk assessment of a wind turbine can be done using qualitative or quantitative methods, such as checklists, matrices, fault trees, event trees, or Monte Carlo simulations. The risk assessment can help you prioritize the actions and measures to prevent, mitigate, or transfer the risks, such as design improvements, operation adjustments, maintenance interventions, insurance policies, or contracts.

5 Cost analysis

The cost analysis of a wind turbine involves calculating and comparing the different components of the total cost of ownership, such as the capital cost, the operation and maintenance cost, the fuel cost, the environmental cost, and the decommissioning cost. The cost analysis of a wind turbine can be done using different indicators, such as the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), the net present value (NPV), the internal rate of return (IRR), or the payback period. The cost analysis can help you evaluate the economic feasibility and profitability of a wind turbine project, as well as the sensitivity and uncertainty of the results to different assumptions and scenarios.

6 Performance evaluation

The performance evaluation of a wind turbine involves measuring and comparing the actual and expected outcomes of the wind turbine, such as the energy production, the capacity factor, the availability, the efficiency, the power quality, and the emissions. The performance evaluation of a wind turbine can be done using different methods, such as field tests, laboratory tests, simulations, or benchmarks. The performance evaluation can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of a wind turbine, as well as the opportunities and threats for improvement and optimization.

7 Here’s what else to consider

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