For owners and operators of wind energy assets, performance monitoring and improvements are always high priority and receive continual attention. Even a marginal gain of a single percentage point across a large portfolio has a very positive financial impact.
Yet too often large companies and those with multiple international branches end up missing out on potential gains due to a lack of centralization. Why should fleet optimization be dealt with centrally?
- Greater efficiency
- Better visibility for top management
- Closer alignment with top level initiatives
- Easier reporting and tracking
- Best practices aligned and followed consistently
Centralization offers efficiency gains. After years of effort, most wind asset owners have centralized their data collection and management. Now more value can be realized by applying smart tools and analytics across the entire fleet. Why ignore parts of the fleet? Years ago, it was pure fantasy to imagine that hundreds or even thousands of turbines could be analyzed each month. Today that can be achieved in a matter of hours. The data is there, the tools are there, just the green light needs to be given and significant revenue gains can be achieved. Plus, by connecting fully automated analysis tools to existing infrastructure means that more value can be realized from previous IT and software investments.
Visibility is a constant concern for management. Allowing regional offices to carry out performance analysis and optimization in a range of different ways can prevent management from efficiently seeing, understanding and measuring what is actually being achieved. Performance optimization is a highly complex and technical area, so there is no value in making things even more complicated than necessary.
Digitalization, data-driven decision-making and accelerated innovation are priorities for most companies today, but these can be interpreted differently and can sound vague. Initiatives must be driven by clear direction from headquarters with standardized progress measurement. To use a sports analogy, a relay team is only as strong as its weakest member and everyone needs to stay in their defined lanes.
Defining a centralized reporting routine and single source of truth, whether that is a database, software system or even an Excel sheet, will pay dividends and allow clear tracking of value generated, costs avoided and energy gains.
New learnings and best practices can be standardized and shared. Lateral communication between regions on a human level is haphazard, rarely incentivized and should not be assumed. Communication channels from regional offices to headquarters are already in place.
Fleet sizes are growing and time pressures continue to rise. Globally distributed companies should take advantage of their centralized data to drive centralized optimization strategies for maximum efficiency and gains.
Speak with i4SEE and gain from our experience and advice on performance optimization strategy.
