EJQ1 - Summer 2024 - Journal - Page 20
in 1993, a 52-turbine installation located in Pincher Creek, Alberta. In
the years and decades that followed, every other Canadian province
had wind farms built and generally connected to the local utility
energy grid. So far, few wind farms have been repowered or have a PPA
extension. Since a big push in wind power development occurred in the
early 2000s, the question about what to do next is timely.
When properly designed, which is most of the time the case, wind
farms can withstand extreme wind events and huge storm with a
su昀케cient margin of safety for its entire lifetime. However, there
are still unexpected natural events that have led to turbine failure.
For example, a lightning strike can disable the intricate electrical
components within the turbine, causing the unit to malfunction or
even to set o昀昀 on 昀椀re. Not to mention that bad designs have, in rare
occasions, lead to failure and even to turbine collapse.
That said, where proper design and maintenance regimes have been
implemented, the original 20-year timelines have stood up, allowing
producers to meet the demands outlined in the original PPAs. A poor
maintenance record rarely shuts the turbine down completely, but
could signi昀椀cantly reduce its output, reducing the project pro昀椀tability.
Evaluating an existing system
Fatigue is the feeling we experience after a long day. Each action we take
slowly depletes our energy reserves, and when all sum together, we end up
feeling exhausted. Mechanical and structural components of a wind turbine
behave quiet the same. The wind blows in all directions, at varying speed
and intensity, there are gusts and turbulences. Each wind event creates a
small amount of deterioration on the blades, the drivetrain, the rotor, the
tower, and the foundation. There are methodologies that allow us to calculate
the deterioration created by every anticipated wind event. This per event
deterioration is extremely small, but when we add all of the events together, the
sum is determined. The resulting valuation determines how much life a given
turbine, and its individual components, has left. This is fatigue calculation.
By conducting this evaluation, in alignment with the latest industry
codes, standards and applicable practices, at or near the end of the farm’s
engineered lifespan, it is determined how soon
components will begin to malfunction, the scaled
deterioration of the farm’s production, and the cost
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of rehabilitation or replacement at di昀昀erent timing
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benchmarks.
E N V I RON M E N T J OURN A L QUA RT E RLY RE PORT • Q1 2 02 4 • P AGE 2 0
