Page 15 - North American Clean Energy May/June 2019 Issue

Extreme Wind Risks
In general, more is better - but not with wind. High winds can pose a safety factor for technicians working on turbines; when technicians can’t safely work, the extreme winds also interrupt or delay turbine maintenance, threatening both the operation of equipment and safety of the maintenance crew.
To operate at peak e ciency, wind farms will bene t from using hub height wind forecasts to identify when each turbine will surpass normal operational thresholds. Understanding when turbines are most at risk from high winds allows operators and technicians to strategically schedule both internal and outside maintenance.
Winds at hub height can signi cantly di er from surface level winds. It can be
a mistake to use forecasting tools that measure wind speed at ground level, leaving it to the wind farm operator to estimate how that translates to hub height. Additionally, forecasts should be gathered at the wind farm itself, where winds can be signi cantly higher than at the nearest weather station. Using hub height and gust forecasts can help turbines perform at optimal e ciency.
And, by choosing a weather forecasting tool that can predict wind speeds and gusts as early as a week in advance, operators can go ahead and hire expensive outside resources such as a crane, lift, or rope crews, without worrying if weather will delay their e orts.
With an understanding of available weather information that can accurately predict approaching storms, track lightning strikes in relation to turbines, forecast hub height wind speeds, and other speci c information, operators can harness the information to safely and e ciently plan maintenance schedules around inclement weather, and help keep maintenance crews safe and the operation working without interruptions.
Ivan Gearhart is an Energy Regional Sales Manager with DTN. Ivan has been active in the wind power industry since 2006, consulting with wind plant operators and developers on both safety and wind plant optimization solutions. He’s a graduate of Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications. Ivan lives with his family in Lincoln, Nebraska.
DTN /// dtn.com
North American Clean Energy
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