Wind Farm Operation Control System for Profit Maximization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a wind farm with multiple wind turbines, the varying rates of component deterioration lead to suboptimal operational conditions for maximizing income, as existing methods focus on individual turbines rather than the farm as a whole, potentially compromising overall profit by synchronizing maintenance across turbines.
Innovation Solution
A method that estimates the remaining lifetime and maintenance costs of each wind turbine under different power limit conditions, selecting the optimal power limit and maintenance timing to maximize profit for the entire wind farm, rather than individual turbines, thereby improving economic operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If maintenance is synchronized across all wind turbines to reduce maintenance cost, then maintenance cost is reduced, but overall profit of the wind farm is compromised due to suboptimal operation conditions for individual turbines
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing each wind turbine to have its own maintenance schedule optimized for its specific component deterioration rate, rather than enforcing a uniform maintenance schedule across all turbines. This enables each turbine to operate under optimal conditions while still allowing for cost-saving synchronized maintenance when deterioration rates are similar.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making maintenance schedules flexible and adaptive to each turbine's actual component deterioration rate. The system dynamically determines maintenance timing based on real-time deterioration monitoring, allowing maintenance schedules to be adjusted individually for each turbine while considering the option for synchronized maintenance when beneficial.
2Reliability
If output is lowered to prolong remaining lifetime of a component, then reliability is improved, but income from sales of electric power is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by monitoring component deterioration rates and predicting remaining lifetime before actual failure occurs. This allows proactive scheduling of maintenance at optimal times, avoiding both premature maintenance (which would reduce income) and delayed maintenance (which would compromise reliability).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by adjusting the output power of individual turbines based on their specific component deterioration rates. Instead of a uniform approach, each turbine's output parameter is dynamically modified to balance reliability extension with income maximization, considering the unique deterioration characteristics of each turbine's components.
Data Source
AI summary
An operation control system for a wind farm having wind turbines includes: a remaining-lifetime estimation unit for estimating remaining lifetime of a component of each wind turbine; a sales-income estimation unit for estimating, for each wind turbine, an income from sales of electric power under a plurality of output control conditions; a maintenance-cost estimation unit for estimating, for each wind turbine, maintenance cost based on the remaining lifetime of the component under each of the plurality of power limit conditions; a power-limit-condition selection unit for selecting, for each wind turbine, a power limit condition that maximizes income obtained from the wind farm, based on the income from sales of electric power and the maintenance cost estimated for each wind turbine under each of the power limit conditions; and an operation command unit for sending an operation command to each wind turbine based on the selected power limit condition.