MHI Vestas Offshore Wind unveiled a new suite of next-generation SMART tools this week that are designed to enhance offshore wind turbine optimization and provide better turbine monitoring, thereby allowing for “significant” cost savings for developers and operators.
Announced on Wednesday, MHI Vestas unveiled its MVOW SMART Turbine products, a new trademark suite of tools that will provide customers with the tools to enhance design assessments, offshore wind turbine monitoring, and real-time decision-making. According to the company, it is “pushing boundaries inside the turbine and could now lay claim to having the world’s smartest available turbine.”
“We are not content to just manufacture the world’s most powerful turbine,” boasted Henrik Baek Jorgensen, Head of Product Management, referring to the recent installation of an MHI Vestas V164-8.8 MW offshore wind turbine at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC). “We know that our customers require world-class production and operation of the turbine in every area. This product portfolio addresses their most critical business needs and gives them an unprecedented level of visibility and control.”
MHI Vestas’ new MVOW SMART Turbine suite is made up of four separate products:
SMART Foundation Loads, which optimizes foundation design upfront. The software package will allow MHI Vestas customers to perform integrated load design simulations prior to undertaking detailed load assessments, using a range of options and scenarios.
SMART Dampers are designed to actively reduce fatigue loads. Active SMART Dampers reduce fatigue and design loads by reducing the side-to-side and fore-aft movements of the tower and also help to extend the use of monopile foundations to more challenging sites where rougher conditions can cause heavier loads.
SMART Fast Data is billed as being able to dramatically increase the data flow from the turbine. Receiving data frequency 600 times faster than traditional SCADA methods from the nearly 1000 sensors in a turbine, the tool unlocks hidden insights, enhances diagnostic capability, and optimizes scheduled service.
SMART Performance Monitor brings wind power plant monitoring to a hand-held device. Feeding real-time information on turbine performance, site production, and operational notifications to any mobile device, the Performance Monitor puts the wind park into the customer’s pocket.
“Our ambition is to not only have the most powerful products, but also the smartest products in offshore wind,” Jorgensen added. “This portfolio is the latest example of how we’re taking digitalisation to the next level and reflects our singular commitment to optimise our customers’ business case.”
The move comes on the heel of several recent MHI Vestas announcements which underline the company’s plans to continually develop new and groundbreaking technologies, while at the same time expanding its share into new global markets. As mentioned, an MHI Vestas V164-8.8 MW wind turbine was recently successfully installed at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the coast of Scotland — the most powerful wind turbine to be deployed for commercial application.
Towards the end of March, MHI Vestas also signed four separate Memorandums of Understanding with companies in Taiwan to begin building out its supply chain in the region. Taiwan has been a recent hotbed of offshore wind industry attention, and MHI Vestas has been quick to similarly jump into the region.
Source: cleantechnica.com
