Just as there is an aftermarket for the automobile industry, there is one for the wind industry. Although the wind turbines going into service in the last few years are technically the most reliable to date, active engineering minds are finding ways to improve them. For instance, the turbines on a wind farm probably came from…

GL Renewables Certification (GL RC) has issued a component certificate to SCADA International for its power-plant controller. The GL RC certificate confirms that the power-plant controller meets the requirements of the Federation of German Windpower and other Renewable Energies. The certificate is the first issued to a power plant controller based on an assessment of…

A supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) developer has software with interfaces for smart phones and tablets, as well as revision control and intuitive project management. InduSoft Web Studio v7.1 has an enhanced Studio Mobile Access client for any HTML.5 web browser to display alarms, trends, and critical tag values. It also has easy-to-use widgets (gauges,…

  Exele Information Systems, a developer of manufacturing and process control software, has made availabile a free version of its TopView Alarm Management and Notification software. TopView Free is a non-expiring version of TopView intended for applications with at most five monitored points. It provides one Remote Viewer (TopView client) connection. There are many processes…

  Chinese manufacturer Dongfang Steam Turbine Works (DSTW) was working on a wind farm project of 66, 1.5-MW turbines and had to establish a SCADA system to remotely monitor on-site equipment and operations while recording operation data for real-time analysis. To make matters worse, Northeast China’s harsh weather called for rugged and reliable networking devices.…

A renewable-energy consulting and information company says it offers Operational Wind Plant Performance Reporting Services. The service, from AWS Truepower, leverages the in-house knowledge and expertise of its staff as well as its state-of-the-art software application SHARP (System Health Analysis Reporting Program), which works well with industry standard SCADA data, helping make comprehensive and efficient…

WindHelm Portfolio Manager software is says to improve project efficiency while reducing wind farm operational costs. This release also delivers reporting for North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Generating Availability Data System (GADS) analysis. The developer says the software provides a single platform to monitor, optimize, and control of any combination of operational turbines, farms,…

SCADA in wind turbines reports on their rotor speed, lube temperatures, voltage outputs, and more. The data tells how well the turbine is performing. V9.04 of Fast/Tools, a web-based SCADA system, now allows for remote maintenance, deployment, and real-time management of process applications via secure web-based services. The software works well on remote processes, managing…

CG Automation, a subsidiary of MSE Power Systems Inc., has acquired ADMS Wind SCADA and wind-turbine-monitoring systems from Second Wind Systems Inc. Combining SCADA with its expertise in utility automation, MSE Power Systems and CG Automation can offer more reliable, interconnections for smart-grid designs. CG Automation provides automation products and systems to electric utilities and…

Wind operators must squeeze out every watt they can when the wind is blowing. To do so, wind projects must be reliable and maintained with minimum cost. With variable winds, high costs, and slim margins, everything has to work right to make sure that wind is attractive alternative power and a sound economic investment. So…