NRG Systems, a manufacturer of measurement systems for the renewable energy industry, has signed a collaborative agreement with TechnoCentre eolien that allows NRG Systems to install and validate its patented condition-based turbine health monitoring system known as TurbinePhD.
The system was installed on a REpower MM92 wind turbine at the TechoCenter's northern wind energy research center in Riviere-au-Renard, Quebec, last month.
NRG Systems says the TurbinePhD system allows operations and maintenance professionals to predict, months in advance, when components in the turbine's drivetrain are likely to fail. Maintenance and crane calls can then be scheduled at the most optimal time, such as during the low-wind season, the company explains.
The TurbinePhD delivers a single, readily understandable health indicator for each component in a turbine's drivetrain – and accurate predictions of their future health – straight to the desktops of operations and maintenance professionals, NRG Systems says.
The system is patented under U.S. Patent No. 8082115.
