WindESCo has closed a pre-launch deal with renewable energy developer, owner and operator Longroad Energy to deploy its swarm optimization technology onto Longroad’s 306 MW Milford Wind project in Beaver County, Utah.
WindESCo Swarm, which launched in October this year, will optimize Milford Wind’s annual energy production (AEP) across the entire fleet, rather than individual turbines, unlocking site-wide AEP gains of 3-5% for their 165 GE and Clipper turbines.
WindESCo Swarm is a commercial, off-the-shelf solution for targeted, fleet-wide wind optimization. The technology enables turbines to cooperatively adjust positioning to eliminate wake interference between assets and boost production for the entire farm.
“Wind asset underperformance is a persistent economic problem for project owners and operators, with losses of potential power production measured in gigawatt hours annually,” comments Jeremy Law, vice president of commercial asset management at Longroad Energy. “We have been working successfully with WindESCo for years to detect and correct this and boost our economic performance. We’re thrilled to be the industry’s first adopters of WindESCo Swarm.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with Longroad for the first deployment of our pioneering Swarm solution,” says Blair Heavey, CEO of WindESCo. “With the U.S. wind industry under increasing pressure to scale up to meet net-zero demands, owners and operators cannot afford to lose power production potential from their existing projects. We are proud to be able to offer the industry the first market-ready, targeted fleet-wide solution to help them get the most out of their assets.”
WindESCo Swarm is delivered on a technical level in strategic partnership with renewable components company Phoenix Contact. Phoenix Contact develops and provides the solution’s ‘Swarm Edge’ hardware component, which is installed onto each turbine to provide centralized data collection and control.
