
Any wind farm with a Repower turbine and those from other manufacturers can refit with a standard IEC interface for a more uniform look and more efficient plant management.
The REguard Interface B IEC 61400-25 is available for any wind farm that uses REpower turbines. The system means the variety of interfaces that might be used in a wind farm can be replaced by a standardized, international version. Even wind farms with turbines from other manufacturers can be controlled with one interface. This considerably reduces project complexity and susceptibility to error. Operators benefit from more efficient operations and lower investment costs.
IEC 61400-25 describes the multi-manufacturer standardization of communication between the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system and wind farm components, such as the wind turbines or the wind-farm-management system. SCADA monitors, controls, and it records power station and industrial systems data. REpower Systems is said to offer a comprehensive range of SCADA products under the REguard name. The product includes hardware and software for controlling the turbines, communicating with the wind farm, and visualizing the operating data.
The wind farms are connected by the internet with REguard. In the wind turbines, the REguard Control B control system monitors the operation and technical condition of the turbines with many sensors. This operating data is regularly transmitted to a data centre for user review.
The REguard Interface would be built into control systems of wind farm units. It needs no additional hardware or software. This gives the operator direct access to the turbines. Various wind farm units can also receive control signals to start, stop, and reset. The Power Management Unit can receive, process, and distribute target values over the wind farm units to regulate performance. The Interface also provides a report function in accordance with the IEC standard. Data includes analogue measured values, 10-minute mean values, digital signals, status information, data counters, control signals, and target values for controlling performance.
“The future speaks IEC”, says Repower Systems CTO Matthias Schubert. “The managers of major power station portfolios must be in a position to “talk” to their turbines. All international wind turbine manufacturers, major energy suppliers, and the independent software manufacturers of SCADA systems are involved in the standardization work required for this. So we expect manufacturer-specific models to be replaced over the next few years by comprehensive systems”.
Repower Systems
www.repower.com
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