Technical Performance Analysis and SCADA System Integration for Wind Turbines

The present master's thesis is based on a comprehensive study made at RWE Renewables, in the department of Technical Performance Analysis. Primarily, the study concerns an optimized operational efficiency for wind turbines by steady monitoring and sophisticated data analysis. Technical performance analysis is conducted for the optimal performance of the wind turbine. Concretely, a routine analysis is done, using different modules and tools, with daily power curve assessments and monthly temperature checks , among others. These practices are very necessary in keeping the efficiency of the turbines at its best to avoid damage and to maximize energy capture. This involves developing a "Side by Side" comparative analysis tool using Databricks and Python. This tool will support detailed comparison between two turbines: one with hardware upgradement for improved aerodynamic efficiency, and the other, the reference turbine. It is expected that the upgraded turbine would have improved performance metrics against the hardware improvements. The development and implementation are demonstrated with a case study considering these two turbines. It shows performance differences after the upgrade, pointing out an increase in energy production and operational efficiency. These results show the utility of the "Side by Side" tool in performance discrepancy detection and upgrade validation within wind turbines. When it comes to performance analysis, it showed that an upgraded turbine works more efficiently but with more stoppages, thus indicating areas that need further investigation and optimization. It will simply underline the routine technical performance analysis of a plant and benefits accruable from integrating advanced analytical tools in the renewable energy industry.