The TSSG Energy Team Complete Wind Farm Online Application

As part of an Innovation Voucher for Tornado Electric, the TSSG team have completed an online software application which verifies that the wind turbines in Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland are performing to specification. Every wind turbine has a specific profile for the energy created at different wind speeds with a profile similar to the one shown here.

The exact form of the graph varies for each turbine model. The two Vestas 850kW wind turbines owned by Tornado Electric were, until recently, the only two wind turbines in County Waterford used for daily generation of electricity on the national grid. The online application developed by the TSSG ensures that the electricity output from the turbines is exactly what it should be at all times, based on the recorded wind speed at each 10 second interval. This can warn Tornado when the turbines are not optimally set up and in need of maintenance.

According to Robert Halley, director of Tornado Electric:

It is important for us to see how each of our wind turbines are performing as they age. TSSG research has enabled us to track output against power curve. This powerful tool yields real time results which will feed into our maintenance schedules.

Dr. Kevin Quinn, Head of the Energy Research Unit in the TSSG commented:

The TSSG is very interested in working with industry to help them maintain their competitiveness. We are delighted to use the expertise in the TSSG to deliver such a useful product to Tornado is a relatively short period of time. This product is set up to run indefinitely for Tornado.

The Telecommunications Software and Systems Group (TSSG) is a research centre in the Waterford Institute of Technology, which is a third-level college in the South-East of Ireland.

Innovation Vouchers are funded by Enterprise Ireland and are used to allow companies to become involved in research. More information on Innovation Vouchers is available at www.enterprise-ireland.com/InnovationVouchers