Windpower Engineering & Development

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Most recent posts
    • News
    • Featured
  • Resources
    • Digital issues
    • Podcasts
    • Suppliers
    • Webinars
    • Events
  • Videos
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
  • Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Emerson and Vayu team up to optimize wind farms via machine learning

By Michelle Froese | May 9, 2019

Manufacturer and engineering company Emerson has formed an alliance with Vayu (a Ystrategies Corp. company) to provide automation technology solutions for wind-farm optimization in the Americas, Caribbean, and Europe.

The three-year collaboration combines the advanced power applications and networking capabilities of Emerson’s Ovation automation platform with Vayu’s cloud-computing wind optimization technology. Using this approach, Vayu has identified more than $500 million in revenue opportunities from just a fraction of the approximately 450 wind farms in the United States.

According to Emerson and Vayu it is possible to operate wind farms that minimize energy loss due to wind wake and maximize energy output. Learn more here.

According to Emerson and Vayu it is possible to operate wind farms that minimize energy loss due to wind wake and maximize energy output. Learn more here.

“Combining the respective strengths of Emerson and Vayu creates a first-of-its-kind, intelligent solution for wind-farm optimization,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water business. “This initiative will help wind energy producers maximize their aggregate power output, achieve their financial objectives, and deliver more clean power to their communities.”

The wind-power market continues to grow: 53.9 GW were added in 2018, bringing the overall capacity of all wind turbines installed worldwide to 600 gigawatts, according to the World Wind Energy Association. The United States — the second-largest wind power market — added 7.6 GW of capacity last year.

Beyond the additional revenue from megawatt production, the advanced solution from Vayu and Emerson can also help U.S. wind-farm owners take advantage of federal production tax credits awarded for increasing electricity output of existing wind turbines.

“Instead of embarking on full-scale repowering projects that can cost millions, wind-farm owners can make a small investment in this integrated solution to boost power production and qualify for the tax credit,” said Vayu CEO Jim Kiles.

In conventional wind farms, each turbine is individually optimized. Each creates its own turbulence, or wake, which prevents downwind turbines from receiving full energy from the wind stream, significantly reducing wind energy production. Vayu estimates two-thirds of U.S. wind farms experience reduced capacity due to wind wake. Emerson and Vayu’s solution leverages key data and machine learning to enable turbines to work cooperatively, adjusting the side-to-side movement of each turbine based on wind speed, wind direction, and other parameters to extract the optimum energy from wind.

Emerson’s Ovation compact controller will communicate data from each turbine’s wind sensor to the Vayu system every 1 to 2 seconds — much faster than the 10 minutes typically required to perform this function when using traditional equipment. This near-real-time data enables a more accurate calculation of the optimum setting for each turbine.

Ovation compact control technology was designed specifically for renewables and other highly distributed energy applications and can easily interface with any turbine controller. regardless of manufacturer, eliminating the significant time and expense associated with removing and replacing existing turbine controls.


Filed Under: News, O&M, Software
Tagged With: emerson
 

About The Author

Michelle Froese

Related Articles Read More >

Ocean Winds adopts maintenance management services from Shoreline Winds for global wind portfolio
Alaska’s largest wind farm incorporates Emerson’s operations software
Power performance testing? Utilize the ease and efficiency of lidar
Whatever the weather: Optimize asset performance by understanding wind resource, not relying on it

Podcasts

Wind Spotlight: Looking back at a year of Thrive with ZF Wind Power
See More >

Windpower Engineering & Development Digital Edition Archive

Digital Edition

Explore the full archive of digital issues of Windpower Engineering & Development, presented in a high-quality, user-friendly format. Access current and past editions, clip, share, and download valuable content from the industry’s leading wind power engineering resource.

Windpower Engineering & Development
  • Wind Articles
  • Solar Power World
  • Subscribe to Windpower Engineering
  • About Us/Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising

Search Windpower Engineering & Development

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Most recent posts
    • News
    • Featured
  • Resources
    • Digital issues
    • Podcasts
    • Suppliers
    • Webinars
    • Events
  • Videos
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
  • Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe