Isn’t having multiple wind power plants operating at the same time great for redundancy a pleasant problem to have?
In South Africa, a lot is being made of how much wind power generation is coming on stream, easing pressure on the ageing national grid and diversifying the energy mix. Exciting times, indeed!
But what should also be part of the conversation is the need to avoid the downtime experienced with the Eskom grid and the attendant effect on the economy at large, particularly heavy industry.
It would be ironic if the very alternative solution meant to ease pressure on the power grid were itself experiencing downtime. That would be one step forward and one step backwards. It would be harking back to the dark days – no pun intended – of load shedding.
That is why effective Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of wind power generation turbines is critical.
A situation where all wind power plants were to go down simultaneously, particularly at peak times, would be remote. On the other hand, even a single power plant being unavailable can have an impact.
Isn’t having multiple wind power plants operating at the same time great for redundancy a pleasant problem to have?
When one is not working, another can be brought online. In fact, it would be a good problem to have: a number of power plants generating power at the same time.
In a feature article this month, Mamoso May of the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) explains the best approach to developing an O&M strategy for a wind turbine. Apparently, there is no one-size-fits-all template. The risks to reliability and availability to which each turbine is exposed vary.
