IoT Applications in Wind Energy Conversion Systems

Abstract

Renewable energy reliability has been the main agenda nowadays, where the internet of things (IoT) is a crucial research direction with a lot of opportunities for improvement and challenging work. Data obtained from IoT is converted into actionable information to improve wind turbine performance, driving wind energy cost down and reducing risk. However, the implementation in IoT is a challenging task because the wind turbine system level and component level need real-time control. So, this paper is dedicated to investigating wind resource assessment and lifetime estimation of wind power modules using IoT. To illustrate this issue, a model is built with sub-models of an aerodynamic rotor connected directly to a multi-pole variable speed permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) with variable speed control, pitch angle control and full-scale converter connected to the grid. Besides, a large number of various sensors for measurement of wind parameters are integrated with IoT. Simulations are constructed with Matlab/Simulink and IoT ’Thingspeak’ Mathworks web service. IoT has proved to increase the reliability of measurement strategies, monitoring accuracy, and quality assurance.

Optimization and digitization of wind farms using internet of things : A review

“…As at the latter stage of 2016, the United States has successfully installed a global cumulative wind turbine of around 487 GW. 17 China, which has the largest market in terms of total installed capacity, had a goal of employing wind energy in meeting 10% to 15% of the country's energy demand by 2020. 17,18 Most energy firms are now patronizing the incorporation of IoT into wind energy technology as it has the potential to maximize its output.…”

“…17 China, which has the largest market in terms of total installed capacity, had a goal of employing wind energy in meeting 10% to 15% of the country's energy demand by 2020. 17,18 Most energy firms are now patronizing the incorporation of IoT into wind energy technology as it has the potential to maximize its output. Wind speed, wind direction, pitch angle, yaw angle, power production, and other parameters at all turbines could be measured and transmitted into an IoT hub for optimizing production of the wind farm.…”

“…This would give way to a wireless data collection mode and also make provision for real-time monitoring. 17 Wind farms are mostly sited in remote areas where a large quantity of wind could be collected. 20 Those locations include off or near the sea shore and mountains.…”

“…19 The IoT has the capacity to generate a measured voltage output report, and this could be used to develop a power output model, also known as the power curve. 17 The core key to the reliability of wind farm is the early detection of fault and a preventive maintenance system. 2 A major problem wind energy systems experience is the structural faults.…”

“…18 More so, wind turbines deliver optimal output in a cold weather but having ice on the blades could reduce their productivity by 20% and also cause spinning on the nacelle which leads to mechanical fatigue. 17 This results into shaft cracks, tooth breakage, shattering, damage to the tower, and an overall reduction in reliability. 17 All these problems could be avoided by integrating IoT into wind turbines.…”