Method and system for optimizing use of processing resources in wind turbine

Abstract

A method and a system for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind turbine (1) are disclosed. A plurality of tasks that require processing of resources in relation to the control of the wind turbine (1) are identified. For each task requiring processing resources, a lowest level of acceptable service and at least one operation associated with the task are defined that results in a reduced consumption of processing resources associated with the task while ensuring that the lowest level of acceptable service is satisfied. And sorting the tasks needing to process the resources to create a priority list of the tasks needing to process the resources (10). In case the monitored processing load level exceeds a first threshold level, at least one of the tasks requiring processing of the resource is selected according to the priority list (10) and at least one of the operations defined for the at least one selected task is performed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy installation, for example in a wind power plant comprising a plurality of wind turbines. The method according to the invention allows the available processing resources to be used optimally without compromising the control of the wind energy installation. The invention also relates to a system for carrying out the method. Background Art

[0002] When operating and controlling a wind energy installation, such as a wind turbine or a wind power plant comprising a plurality of wind turbines, various tasks need to be performed, each of which requires processing power. For this purpose, a wind energy installation is usually provided with at least one processing resource, for example in the form of at least one CPU. A given processing resource may be shared by various tasks and / or various units that perform tasks. In this case, it must be ensured that sufficient processing capacity is available when a given task should be performed. This is particularly important in the following situations: the performance of the task may be considered critical for the control of the wind energy installation, for example in terms of safety, or in terms of meeting grid code requirements or other requirements or obligations to the grid or other external entities.

[0003] In order to ensure sufficient processing capacity, the processing capacity of the processing resources of a wind energy installation can be designed to be able to handle a large number of tasks at the same time, for example all possible tasks of the wind energy installation that require the processing resources. However, under normal circumstances, the situation where the full processing capacity of such processing resources is needed rarely occurs, or even never occurs. Therefore, designing the processing capacity of the processing resources in this way will result in a large amount of idle processing capacity most of the time. This increases the cost of setting up a wind energy installation.

[0004] If, on the other hand, the processing resources are designed to have a significantly smaller processing capacity, which, for example, reflects a normal average processing resource consumption of a wind energy installation, this may lead to a situation where a given task requiring the processing resources cannot be performed due to insufficient processing capacity, and if this task is considered to be critical for the control of the wind energy installation, this may have serious consequences for the operation of the wind energy installation. Summary of the invention

[0005] It is an object of embodiments of the invention to provide a method for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy installation, which method minimizes the requirements on processing capacity without compromising the control of the wind energy installation.

[0006] It is a further object of embodiments of the invention to provide a system for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy installation, which system minimizes the requirements on processing capacity without compromising the control of the wind energy installation.

[0007] According to a first aspect, the invention provides a method for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy installation, the method comprising the following steps:

[0008] - identifying a plurality of tasks requiring processing resources which are related to the control of the wind energy installation,

[0009] - defining, for each task requiring processing resources, a minimum acceptable service level associated with said task and defining at least one operation that results in a reduction in the consumption of processing resources associated with said task while ensuring that said minimum acceptable service level is met,

[0010] - sorting the tasks requiring processing resources to create a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources,

[0011] - monitoring a processing load level of said processing resource and comparing said processing load level with a first threshold level,

[0012] - in case the monitored processing load level exceeds the first threshold level, selecting at least one of the tasks requiring processing resources according to the priority list of tasks requiring processing resources, and performing at least one of the operations defined for at least one selected task.

[0013] Therefore, the method according to the first aspect of the invention is a method for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy device. In this context, the term "wind energy device (wind energy facility)" should be interpreted as referring to a device configured to generate energy (preferably electrical energy) from wind. Therefore, a wind energy device can be, for example, a wind turbine or a wind power plant comprising a plurality of wind turbines.

[0014] In this context, the term "processing resource" should be interpreted as referring to a unit or entity that is capable of performing relevant data processing. A processing resource may be or include, for example, at least one CPU.

[0015] In a method according to a first aspect of the invention, a plurality of tasks requiring processing resources are identified in connection with the control of a wind energy installation. The identified tasks are tasks that need to be performed as part of controlling the wind energy installation and wherein the execution of the tasks involves the consumption of processing capacity delivered by the processing resources. Thus, the identified tasks are all tasks that may be expected to utilize the processing capacity of the processing resources at any time when the tasks are executed.

[0016] For each of the identified tasks requiring processing resources, a minimum acceptable service level associated with the task is identified. The minimum acceptable service level specifies the minimum level required when performing the task to ensure that control of the wind energy device is not compromised. For example, the minimum acceptable service level may include a minimum sampling rate, a maximum processing delay, a minimum processing speed, a minimum data transfer rate, etc.

[0017] In addition, at least one operation is identified for each of the identified tasks that require processing resources, the at least one operation resulting in a reduction in the consumption of processing resources associated with the task while ensuring that a minimum acceptable service level is met. For example, the operation may be to reduce the sampling rate of the data input for the task (e.g., a measurement parameter) from a standard sampling rate to a lower sampling rate. This will reduce the amount of data that needs to be processed when performing the task, and thus the consumption of processing resources associated with the task will also be reduced. However, reducing the sampling rate will also result in a coarser or more delicate image of the measurement parameter. Therefore, the portion of the wind energy plant control that is dependent on performing the task will no longer closely track changes in the measurement parameter, resulting in lower precision control, and therefore a lower level of service.

[0018] It is necessary to ensure that the operation (i.e., the sampling rate in the above example) does not result in a situation where the minimum acceptable service level cannot be met. Referring to the above example, the sampling rate should not be reduced to a level where there is a risk of compromising the control of the wind energy equipment. For example, the sampling rate should not be reduced to a level below the required response rate to changes in the measured parameters. Therefore, the identified operation may be to reduce the sampling rate to a level below the normal sampling rate and above the minimum acceptable sampling rate to ensure that appropriate control can be performed on the wind energy equipment.

[0019] Next, the identified tasks requiring processing resources are sorted to create a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources. For example, the tasks may be sorted based on their criticality in terms of operation or control of the wind energy device, the expected reduction in processing resource consumption, the expected reduction in service level, whether the execution of the tasks is time-sensitive, etc.

[0020] During operation of the wind energy device, the processing load level of the processing resources is monitored and compared to a first threshold level. As described above, the operation and control of the wind energy device requires the execution of various tasks, some of which consume processing power. By default, these tasks will be executed with default settings, thereby providing optimal control of the wind energy device without considering the processing resource consumption associated therewith. The processing resource consumption of the tasks varies as a function of time (varies over time), depending on which tasks are being executed at a given point in time and the consumption of the individual tasks. Therefore, the total processing load level of the processing resources shared by the tasks varies as a function of time.

[0021] The monitored processing load level may be, for example, a percentage of the full processing capacity of the processing resource, or may be the absolute total processing load caused by the tasks executed at a given point in time. The first threshold level may be a processing load that, if exceeded, introduces a risk that the available processing capacity is insufficient to ensure that the critical tasks can be executed. For example, the first threshold level may be 75%-90% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource.

[0022] Therefore, in the event that the monitored processing load exceeds the first threshold level, this indicates that the available processing capacity of the processing resources may not be sufficient to allow all tasks to continue to execute according to the default settings. Therefore, when this occurs, at least one of the tasks requiring processing resources is selected according to the priority list, and at least one of the operations defined for the at least one selected task is performed. As described above, this can be expected to result in a reduction in the total consumption of the processing capacity of the processing resources, thereby ensuring that any critical tasks requiring processing resources can be safely executed. In addition, since the operations are defined in such a way that the minimum acceptable service level of all tasks in the priority list can be met, this can be achieved without compromising the control of the wind energy device, although the service level of the selected task is slightly reduced. Finally, since the selection of at least one task is performed according to the priority list, it is ensured that the at least one task selected is the least critical task for the control of the wind energy device, that is, a reduction in the processing load is obtained with as little impact as possible on the control of the wind energy device.

[0023] Thus, processing resources with a relatively low processing capacity can be applied, thereby reducing the costs of the wind energy installation without compromising the control or operation of the wind energy installation.

[0024] The step of defining a minimum acceptable service level for each task requiring processing resources and / or the step of prioritizing the tasks requiring processing resources may be performed in accordance with a grid code applicable to a grid to which the wind energy installation is connected.

[0025] In the present context, the term "grid code" should be interpreted as referring to a technical specification that defines the parameters that facilities connected to the public power grid must meet in order to ensure the safe, reliable and economical operation of the grid. Typically, the grid specifies the behavior required of power generation facilities during grid disturbances, which include voltage regulation, power factor limitation, reactive power supply, response to grid frequency changes, "ride-through" requirements, etc. Therefore, the grid code defines the obligations of wind energy installations to the grid. By performing the steps of defining minimum acceptable service levels for tasks and / or sequencing tasks in accordance with the grid code applicable on the grid to which the wind energy installation is connected, it is effectively ensured that these obligations can be fulfilled, also when the processing load is reduced due to the performance of operations related to the selected tasks, as described above.

[0026] Tasks requiring processing resources may include active power loop sampling, reactive power loop sampling, power meter measurement sampling, communication tasks, status supervision, and / or parameter supervision.

[0027] Active power loop sampling is a task in which the active power produced by a wind energy device is monitored or measured at a specified sampling rate and compared to an active power set point or to the maximum and minimum values ​​of an acceptable active power range or deadband. This typically forms part of a control loop related to the active power output of the wind energy device that ensures that the required level of active power is provided to the grid. The action defined for the active power loop sampling task may be to reduce the sampling rate to a level that results in a less accurate but still acceptable control of the active power output.

[0028] Reactive power loop sampling is a similar task to active power loop sampling, so the above description also applies here. However, in this case, the reactive power generated by the wind energy device is monitored or measured instead of the active power.

[0029] Power meter measurement sampling is a task where the power generated by a wind energy device is monitored or measured. This can be used as an input to an active power loop and / or a reactive power loop, for example. An action defined for a power meter measurement can be to reduce the sampling rate at which the generated power is measured and fed to the relevant control loop. This will reduce the accuracy of the affected control loop, but not beyond acceptable levels.

[0030] There are many communication tasks within a wind energy installation, which may include, for example, communication between sensors and control systems, communication between various units of a wind energy installation, etc. In addition, a wind energy installation may communicate with external parties such as data centers, SCADA servers, etc. An operation defined for a communication task may be to reduce the rate at which certain communication signals are sent.

[0031] State supervision is a task in which the state of various processes, control algorithms, hardware, etc. of a wind energy device is monitored or supervised to ensure that everything is operating as expected. An example of such a supervision task is to supervise the rise time of a reactive power control loop. Such a supervision task may be considered not critical to the control of the wind energy device, so it is acceptable to abandon the supervision for a limited period of time. Therefore, the actions defined for the state supervision tasks may be to stop one or more state supervision tasks (e.g. the state supervision task with the highest processing load), or the sampling rate may be reduced.

[0032] Parameter supervision is a task in which the available and currently applied parameters are monitored or supervised to ensure that they are appropriate and sufficient. For example, a controller of a wind energy device (e.g. a power plant controller of a wind power plant) may be supervised to see if it has the correct and appropriate control parameters. Similar to the above-mentioned state supervision task, the action associated with the parameter supervision task may be to stop one or more parameter supervision tasks (e.g. the parameter supervision task with the highest processing load), or the sampling rate may be reduced.

[0033] Alternatively or additionally, any other suitable tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of the wind energy installation may be identified and included in the priority list.

[0034] The step of sorting the tasks requiring processing resources may comprise sorting the tasks according to their criticality to the control of the wind energy installation. As described above, this ensures that the tasks selected first to reduce the processing load are the tasks considered least critical to the control of the wind energy installation.

[0035] Alternatively or additionally, the ordering of tasks requiring processing resources may take into account other factors, such as the expected impact on the reduction of processing load, the expected reduction in service level, and the like.

[0036] The method may further comprise the following steps:

[0037] - comparing the processing load level to a second threshold level, the second threshold level being higher than the first threshold level, and

[0038] - in case the processing load level exceeds the second threshold level, selecting at least one further task requiring processing resources according to the priority list of tasks requiring processing resources, and performing at least one of the operations defined for the at least one further selected task.

[0039] According to this embodiment, in addition to comparing the processing load level to the first threshold level, it is also compared to a second threshold level that is higher than the first threshold level. In the event that execution of at least one operation associated with the at least one task requiring processing resources initially selected is insufficient to maintain the processing load level below the first threshold level, the processing load may continue to increase despite the effort that has been made. This may result in the processing load level increasing to an extent that exceeds the second threshold level, indicating a higher risk that a situation in which a critical task cannot be executed may occur.

[0040] Thus, when this occurs, at least one further task requiring processing resources is selected according to the priority list of tasks requiring processing resources, and at least one of the operations defined for the at least one further selected task is performed substantially in the manner described above.

[0041] Therefore, according to this embodiment, tasks requiring processing resources are selected in turn according to the priority list, and the relevant operations are performed to obtain the required reduction in the processing load of the processing resources. This ensures that operations are performed only within the range required to keep the processing load at an acceptable level, thereby having a minimal impact on the control of the wind energy device.

[0042] It is worth noting that the method may further comprise comparing the processing load level with one or more further threshold levels higher than the second threshold level, so as to sequentially initiate more operations to be performed when the respective threshold levels are reached.

[0043] The method may further comprise the following steps:

[0044] - comparing the processing load level to a third threshold level, the third threshold level being lower than the first threshold level, and

[0045] - in case said processing load level drops below said third threshold level,

[0046] Stops at least one action defined for at least one selected task.

[0047] According to this embodiment, after selecting at least one task and performing at least one operation related thereto, the processing load level is compared with a third threshold level that is lower than the first threshold level. In the case where the processing load level drops below the third threshold level, this indicates that the available processing capacity is sufficient for the currently running tasks with standard settings and that it is no longer necessary to reduce the processing load by performing operations. Therefore, when this occurs, at least one operation defined for at least one selected task will be stopped. This may, for example, include restoring a standard sampling rate and / or communication rate.

[0048] The method may further comprise the steps of evaluating the available processing capacity compared to the total processing capacity required for tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of the wind energy installation based on the performed operations and determining whether to upgrade the processing resources based on the evaluation.

[0049] In case the processing capacity required for handling normal tasks during the control of the wind energy system approaches or even exceeds the maximum processing capacity of the processing resource, it can be expected that the processing load level of the processing resource will frequently exceed the first threshold level, resulting in the selection of tasks and operations to be performed. Therefore, by analyzing the operations being performed, it can be concluded whether the available processing power or processing capacity of the processing resource actually matches the requirements of the wind energy system. If it is concluded that the available processing power or processing capacity is insufficient, it can be decided to upgrade the processing resource to increase the available processing power and thus better match the demand.

[0050] This may occur, for example, if changes are made to the wind energy installation that have an impact on the processing resource requirements without the processing resources being adjusted at the same time. This may occur, for example, if one or more new wind turbines are added to a wind farm or if one or more wind turbines of a wind farm are replaced by new wind turbines with higher processing resource requirements.

[0051] The wind energy device may be a wind farm comprising a plurality of wind turbines. According to this embodiment, the processing resources may be shared by the wind turbines of the wind farm. For example, the processing resources may form part of a power plant controller (PPC), a SCADA server or another shared digital infrastructure of the wind farm.

[0052] According to a second aspect, the invention provides a system for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy installation, the system comprising:

[0053] a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of a wind energy installation, said priority list defining for each task requiring processing resources a minimum acceptable service level associated with said task and at least one operation resulting in a reduction in the consumption of resources associated with said task while ensuring that said minimum acceptable service level is met,

[0054] - monitoring means for monitoring the processing load level of said processing resources, and

[0055] a communication unit configured to generate and transmit command signals to a unit executing a task requiring resources according to the processing load level of the processing resources and the priority list,

[0056] The system is configured to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present invention.

[0057] Since the system according to the second aspect of the present invention is configured to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present invention, the discussion set forth above with reference to the first aspect of the present invention is equally applicable here.

[0058] The system according to the second aspect of the invention comprises a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of the wind energy installation. The priority list can advantageously be generated in the manner described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention and defines the minimum acceptable service level and operation related to the tasks in the manner described above.

[0059] The system further comprises monitoring means for monitoring the processing load level of the processing resources in the manner as described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention.

[0060] Finally, the system comprises a communication unit configured to generate command signals based on the processing load level of the processing resources and the priority list and transmit them to the units performing the tasks requiring the resources. Thus, when the system performs the method according to the first aspect of the invention and the processing load level exceeds the first threshold level, at least one task is selected from the priority list in the above-described manner. The communication unit then generates command signals specifying the operations to be performed and transmits these command signals to one or more units in the wind energy system responsible for performing at least one selected task. In response to receiving the command signals, at least one unit performs the required at least one operation, thereby achieving the required reduction in the processing load of the processing resources.

[0061] The system may be or include a power plant controller (PPC) of a wind power plant comprising a plurality of wind turbines.According to this embodiment, the wind energy installation may be a wind power plant and the method according to the first aspect of the invention is at least partly performed by the PPC.

[0062] The system may also be configured to receive inputs relating to grid codes applied on the grid to which the wind energy device is connected. According to this embodiment, a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources may be generated taking into account the locally applied grid codes. This has been described above with reference to the first aspect of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0064] Figure 1 A wind power plant to which a method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is illustrated.

[0065] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present invention,

[0066] Figure 3 illustrates a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources used in executing a method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and

[0067] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wind power plant 1, which includes a plurality of wind turbines 2, three of which are shown in the figure. The wind turbines 2 are connected to a grid 3 via a common coupling point 4. Therefore, the electricity generated by the wind turbines 2 is supplied to the grid 3.

[0069] The wind turbine 2 is also connected to a power plant controller (PPC) 5 via a communication connection 6. Thus, the PPC 5 may transmit control signals, command signals, etc. to the wind turbine 2 in order to provide overall control of the wind power plant 1. Furthermore, the wind turbine 2 may transmit signals or data, e.g. in the form of sensor signals, data about the operation of the wind turbine 2 (including power generation), etc., to the PPC 5 via the communication connection 6 in order to allow the PPC 5 to appropriately handle the control of the wind power plant 1.

[0070] The PPC 5 also receives grid code information related to the grid 3 via the external communication connection 7. This allows the PPC 5 to take the grid code into account when controlling the wind power plant 1, thereby ensuring compliance with the grid code.

[0071] The PPC 5 includes or is connected to processing resources (not shown) that are shared between the wind turbines 2 of the wind farm 1. Furthermore, the PPC 5 maintains a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources that are to be performed by the wind turbines 2 (e.g., by specific components of the wind turbines 2) as part of controlling the wind turbines 2. The priority list defines for each task a minimum acceptable service level and at least one operation that results in a reduction in consumption of processing resources associated with the task while ensuring that the minimum acceptable service level is met.

[0072] During operation of the wind power plant 1, the PPC 5 monitors the processing load level of the processing resources and compares the processing load level with a first threshold level. In case the processing load level exceeds the first threshold level, this indicates that the capacity limit of the processing resources is being approached, which may bring a risk of not being able to perform tasks that may be considered critical for the control of the wind power plant 1.

[0073] Therefore, in order to ensure proper control of the wind power plant 1, the PPC 5 selects at least one task requiring processing resources according to the priority list. Furthermore, the PPC 5 generates a command signal according to at least one operation defined for the at least one selected task and transmits the command signal to the wind turbine 2 responsible for performing the at least one selected task via the communication connection 6. After receiving the command signal, each wind turbine 2 performs the specified operation, thereby reducing processing resource consumption and ensuring that sufficient processing capacity is available to perform critical tasks.

[0074] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The resource monitoring unit 8 monitors the processing load level of the processing resources of the wind energy device and provides the monitored processing load level to the control processor 9 responsible for controlling the wind energy device. The control processor 9 can be, for example, a power plant controller (PPC) of the wind power plant or form part thereof.

[0075] Furthermore, a priority list 10 of tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of the wind energy installation is provided to the control processor 9. The priority list 10 also specifies for each task a minimum acceptable service level associated with the task and at least one operation which results in a reduction in the consumption of processing resources associated with the task while ensuring that the minimum acceptable service level is met.

[0076] When the monitored processing load level exceeds a first threshold level, the control processor 9 selects at least one of the tasks requiring processing resources according to the priority list 10 and ensures that at least one of the operations defined by at least one selected task is executed, thereby ensuring that the processing load is reduced without compromising the control of the wind power equipment.

[0077] Figure 3 FIG. 1 illustrates a priority list 10 of tasks requiring processing resources for use in executing a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The priority list 10 includes two tasks, namely a reactive power sampling loop (Q 采样 ) and active power sampling loop (P 采样 ). A total of three operations related to these two tasks are listed. These will be described in further detail below. However, it should be noted that this is merely exemplary and the priority list 10 may include additional tasks and / or additional operations.

[0078] Figure 3 The priority list 10 can be used during the control of a wind energy installation, such as a wind farm, in the following manner.

[0079] The processing load level of the processing resource of the wind energy installation is monitored. When the processing load level reaches a threshold value of 80% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource, the task "Q 采样 ” and performs an associated operation in the form of reducing the sampling rate of the reactive power sampling loop. More specifically, the sampling rate is reduced from sampling reactive power once every 40ms to sampling reactive power once every 80ms. This results in less accurate control of the reactive power output of the wind energy device, but the sampling rate is still within an acceptable range. On the other hand, the lower sampling rate reduces the processing resource consumption of the reactive power loop.

[0080] If reducing the sampling rate of the reactive power loop as described above is not sufficient to result in the desired reduction in the processing load level of the processing resource, the processing load level may even increase further. If the processing load level reaches 85% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource, another task is selected in the form of task "P 采样", and performs an associated operation in the form of reducing the sampling rate of the active power sampling loop by reducing the sampling rate from sampling the active power once every 40ms to sampling the active power once every 80ms. This is similar to the reduction of reactive power described above.

[0081] If this is not enough to cause the desired reduction in the processing load level of the processing resource, the processing load level may continue to increase and reach 90% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource. When this happens, the task "Q 采样 ” and performs an operation that reduces the sampling rate of the reactive power sampling loop even further. In this case, the sampling rate is reduced from every 80ms to every 160ms.

[0082] If the processing load level of the processing resource is appropriately reduced, the above operations are sequentially stopped in the reverse order. More specifically, when the processing load level is reduced to less than 70% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource, the sampling rate of the reactive power sampling loop is increased from every 160ms to every 80ms, when the processing load level is reduced to less than 65% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource, the sampling rate of the active power sampling loop is increased from every 80ms to every 40ms, and when the processing load level is reduced to less than 60% of the full processing capacity of the processing resource, the sampling rate of the reactive power sampling loop is increased from every 80ms to every 40ms.

[0083] Figure 4 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process starts at step 11. In step 12, a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of a wind energy installation is created. The priority list also defines for each task a minimum acceptable service level associated with the task and at least one operation that results in a reduction in the consumption of processing resources associated with the task while ensuring that the minimum acceptable service level is met.

[0084] In step 13 , a process load level of the process resources of the wind energy installation is monitored and in step 14 it is investigated whether the monitored process load level exceeds a first threshold level.

[0085] If step 14 reveals that the processing load level exceeds the first threshold level, this indicates that the load on the processing resource is approaching its limit and therefore the processing load needs to be reduced to ensure that sufficient processing capacity is available to perform tasks critical to the control of the wind energy installation. Therefore, the process moves to step 15, in which at least one task is selected according to the priority list and at least one operation defined by the at least one selected task is performed.

[0086] In step 16, it is investigated whether the monitored processing load level exceeds a second threshold level which is higher than the first threshold level. If this is the case, it indicates that the at least one operation performed in step 15 is insufficient to keep the processing load at an acceptable level. Therefore, the flow passes to step 17, in which at least one further task is selected according to the priority list and at least one operation defined by the at least one further task is performed. The flow then returns to step 13 to continue monitoring the processing load level, in which operations associated with the initially selected task and operations associated with the further selected tasks are run.

[0087] If step 16 reveals that the second threshold level has not been exceeded, flow returns to step 13 to continue monitoring the processing load level and only run operations associated with the initially selected task.

[0088] It should be noted that if step 14 is modified while continuing to monitor the processing load level (wherein one or more operations are running), and step 14 reveals that the processing load level is still above the first threshold level, then this will also cause the process to continue to step 15 to select at least one task and at least one corresponding operation in addition to at least one task already selected and at least one operation already running.

[0089] If step 14 reveals that the processing load level is below the first threshold level, the flow will move to step 18, where it is investigated whether the monitored processing load level has dropped below a third threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value, and this situation has continued for a predefined time t. If this is not the case, it can be concluded that the processing load of the currently running task is within an acceptable range, and the flow will return to step 13 to continue monitoring the processing load level.

[0090] If step 18 reveals that the processing load level has been below the third threshold level for a predefined time t, this indicates that there is unused processing capacity on the processing resource. Therefore, in this case, the flow will pass to step 19, where it is investigated whether any previously started operations are running. If this is not the case, the flow will simply return to step 13 to continue monitoring the processing load level.

[0091] If step 19 reveals that the previously started operations are in fact running, the flow will move to step 20, where one or more of the running operations will be stopped because the processing load level is below the third threshold level, which means that unused processing capacity is available, indicating that the previously started operations are no longer needed. The flow then returns to step 13 to continue monitoring the processing load level.

[0092] It is noted that in the case where two or more operations are running, the running operations may be stopped sequentially, for example, in a reverse order compared to the way they were started, rather than stopping all the running operations at once. This will provide a gradual and controlled increase in the processing load level, thereby avoiding immediately exceeding the first threshold limit again.

Claims

1. A method for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind power plant (1), the method comprising the following steps: - identifying a plurality of tasks requiring processing resources in connection with the control of the wind energy installation (1), - defining for each task requiring processing resources a minimum acceptable service level associated with said task and defining at least one operation which results in a reduction in the consumption of processing resources associated with said task while ensuring that said minimum acceptable service level is met, - sorting said tasks requiring processing resources thereby creating a priority list of tasks requiring processing resources (10), - monitoring a processing load level of said processing resource and comparing said processing load level with a first threshold level, - in case the monitored processing load level exceeds the first threshold level, selecting at least one of the tasks requiring processing resources according to the priority list (10) of tasks requiring processing resources, and performing at least one of the operations defined for at least one selected task.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of defining a minimum acceptable service level for each task requiring processing resources and / or the step of prioritizing the tasks requiring processing resources is performed in accordance with a grid code applicable to a grid (3) to which the wind energy installation (1) is connected.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The tasks requiring processing resources include active power loop sampling, reactive power loop sampling, power meter measurement sampling, communication tasks, status supervision and / or parameter supervision.

4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The step of sorting the tasks requiring processing resources comprises sorting the tasks according to their criticality for the control of the wind energy installation (1).

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of: - comparing the processing load level to a second threshold level, the second threshold level being higher than the first threshold level, and - in case the processing load level exceeds the second threshold level, selecting at least one further task requiring processing resources according to the priority list (10) of tasks requiring processing resources, and performing at least one of the operations defined for the at least one further selected task.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of: - comparing the processing load level to a third threshold level, the third threshold level being lower than the first threshold level, and - in case said processing load level drops below said third threshold level, Stops at least one action defined for at least one selected task.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the steps of: Based on the operations performed, the available processing capacity compared to the total processing capacity required for tasks requiring processing resources related to the control of the wind energy installation (1) is evaluated, and based on the evaluation it is determined whether the processing resources should be upgraded.

8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The wind energy installation is a wind farm (1) comprising a plurality of wind turbines (2).

9. A system for optimizing the use of processing resources in a wind energy installation (1), the system comprising: a priority list (10) of tasks requiring processing resources associated with the control of the wind energy installation (1), the priority list (10) defining for each task requiring processing resources a minimum acceptable service level associated with the task and at least one operation resulting in a reduction in the consumption of resources associated with the task while ensuring that the minimum acceptable service level is met, - monitoring means (8) for monitoring the processing load level of the processing resources, and - a communication unit configured to generate and transmit command signals to the unit executing the task requiring the resources according to the processing load level of the processing resources and the priority list (10), Therein, the system is configured to perform the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein: The system is or comprises a power plant controller (PPC) (5) of a wind power plant (1), the wind power plant (1) comprising a plurality of wind turbines (2).

11. The system according to claim 9 or 10, wherein: The system is further configured to receive input relating to a grid code applicable on a grid (3) to which the wind energy installation (1) is connected.

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