Greentech Lead America: GE announced the 2,000th installation of WindBOOST, a wind turbine controls system upgrade for GE’s 1.5 and 2.5 megawatt series that helps increase annual energy production of a wind farm by allowing for increased power output.
The total energy output contributed by WindBOOST has been increased by a total of 341,000 megawatt hours (MWh). The global wind-boosted fleet includes turbines from numerous GE customers including Invenergy, First Wind and EDPR.
WindBOOST is part of GE’s suite of wind service offerings that increase annual energy production. GE is harnessing the power of the Industrial Internet and using software and analytics to make its machines smarter and more efficient.
The solution works by monitoring the air density of the turbine in real time and accordingly increases the rotational speed of the generator. This results in an increased output of nearly 100-kilowatt hours (kW), enhancing productivity from 1,500 kW to 1,600 kW for a standard turbine.
WindBOOST is automatically activated depending on wind speed, weather and terrain conditions, increasing the energy produced by each wind turbine by up to 4 percent. The WindBOOST upgrade, equipped with remote power capabilities for added flexibility, was designed to maintain electrical and mechanical loading within the confines of the existing turbine design.
“WindBOOST enables the flexibility to extract maximum value from operators’ existing wind assets without decreasing life expectancy or making significant hardware or component changes,” said Andy Holt, general manager of wind services for GE’s renewable energy business.
“This milestone is a testament to the proven ability of WindBOOST to enhance productivity and maximize revenue for customers in a wide array of wind and weather conditions, terrain configurations and ISO markets,” Holt added.
In addition to WindBOOST, GE wind services provide value to customers through advanced software products such as WindCONTROL, Turbine Performance Optimization, Winter Ice Operation Mode and PulsePOINT.