In what could be next big thing for the Indian wind energy market, GE recently announced the launch of a digital wind farm solution backed with big data and analytics to boost generation and improve efficiency.
Earlier this month, GE announced that it launched the Digital Wind Farm technology in India. The technology uses industrial internet to continuously monitor the equipment, optimise operations, and increase efficiency and output. The system includes several applications developed by GE including Wind PowerUp Services, Wind Energy Forecasting, PulsePOINT Condition-monitoring System, and WindCONTROL Farm Control System.
According to the company, PowerUp helps to increase the output from the wind farm by upto 5% by optimising the turbine operation to local conditions. The forecasting application results in increased accuracy in predicting power generation thereby helping the generator to deliver and the grid operator to absorb more electricity into the grid without compromising the grid stability.
The launch of this technology could not have come at a better time. India has nearly exhausted most of its high wind energy resource sites in the onshore sector. New projects are being set up at sites with low wind speeds; and while turbine manufacturers do offer turbines that operate well in low-speed conditions, additional technologies, like the one being offered by GE, certainly help in increasing the output further.
Additionally, revenue of wind project developers are set up go down significantly as two critical financial incentives will expire on 31 March 2017. Increased efficiency and output will help developers compensate this revenue fall to some extent. Developers shall also be require to forecast power generation and inform the regulators of periodic injection into the grid.
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