Towards the Zero Maintenance Wind Turbine

Renewable sources are set to form an increasingly important component of electricity generation in the UK and worldwide. Wind turbines are the most developed renewable technology and are now the largest renewable source for electricity in the UK. Most new turbines are currently being sited onshore but offshore sites could harness greater resource with higher wind speeds and lower turbulence. However, the offshore environment means that access to the turbines is more difficult and attendance for maintenance will be extremely limited, especially during the winter months. This means to ensure high turbine availability, and therefore a high cash return for operators, high reliability turbines with condition-based maintenance will be essential for offshore wind turbines. The paper will present ongoing work at Durham on three inter-related projects, first studying the reliability of existing onshore turbine, then analysing the failure modes and effects on turbines and finally designing a condition monitoring scheme for offshore turbines based on this knowledge