Friday 3 December 2021

‘Each year wind farms lose energy that could power London for 110 days’

In wind farms across Europe and America 11,300GWh of energy is being lost every year.

That’s the claim of a new study by data company ONYX Insight, which has revealed that the amount of energy currently being lost could be enough to power London for 110 days.

It is calling on wind farm operators to take precautions to maximise all possible MW of production as temperatures drop for winter across Europe and North America.

The report puts 80% of lost energy from turbines down to 10 issues – including temperature issues, misalignment of parts within the turbine, erosion and icing.

Data analytics can be the answer to spotting these issues quickly and taking appropriate action to reduce the energy losses incurred, the report stresses.

It claims that simply using data to track the state of turbines and productivity levels will allow wind farm owners to detect specific problems easily and cut this number down – especially as temperatures drop and energy prices rise.

The renewables industry must work together to ensure the infrastructure is being used to full potential and allowing the green transition to take place – even more pertinent given the surge of natural gas and coal prices – the study warns.

Bruce Hall, CEO of ONYX Insight, commented: “Natural gas prices are surging, partly fuelled by political influences. Coal prices have also risen, while production has increased despite the plan to phase coal out.

“We now need to accept that we must be smarter and make effective fleet-wide changes to wind farms in order to support the realisation of net zero goals and more immediately, energy shortages.

“This is going to happen every year for the coming 10 years and beyond. We need to take steps together to make wind and other renewable energy sources more efficient and resilient now.”