ABSTRACT

The advantages of continuous monitoring of physical conditions of a wind turbine (WT) are manifold. After the capital costs of commissioning wind turbine generators (WTGs), the biggest costs are operations, maintenance, and insurance. WTs often operate in severe, remote environments and require frequent scheduled maintenance. Maintenance costs can be reduced through continuous, automated monitoring of WTs. Monitoring and data analysis enables CBM rather than time-interval-based maintenance. Condition monitoring (CM) detects failures before they reach a catastrophic or secondary-damage stage, extends asset life, and keeps assets working at initial capacity factors. Vibration monitoring is one of the most important aspects in WT monitoring because it helps determine the condition of rotating equipment. Monitoring and recording of electrical and nonelectrical variables of the PV modules, the inverters, and the medium-voltage components could be an answer for monitoring and control of a solar power plant.