Arctic Wind Digital Transformation Initiatives

About the Customer

Arctic Wind is owned 100% of Finnmark Kraft. The company is located in Havøysund, Finnmark. Havøygavlen Windpark is owned by Arctic Wind AS, 100%. Located 100 km south of the North Cape in the Måsøy municipality in Finnmark, Havøygavlen is the world’s northernmost wind park consisting of 15 N80/2500 kW turbines and 1 SWT-3.0-101/3000 kW turbine with an annual output of around 90GWh.

The wind turbines each have 2.5MW and 3,0 MW capacity. The N80 wind turbines were supplied and installed by Nordex, also responsible for the park's operation. The turbines are 120m high, blades included. The SWT-3.0-101 wind turbine was supplied and installed by Siemens WindPower, and this is 131 m high. They feature rotor blades which, when combined, cover an area of 5,000m⊃2; and are able to produce energy at wind speeds of up to 25m/s. Average wind speeds on Havøygavlen are around 9m/s. The blades are made of glass fiber-reinforced polyester and weigh about 9,000 kg each.

Scope and Challenges

Maintenance is a key concern for Arctic Wind because the wear and tear on materials are much greater in these extreme weather conditions. Wind turbines can be up to 130 meters high, including the glass fiber-reinforced polyester blades that weigh about 9,000 kg each. Flaws in the structural integrity of a turbine, meaning its capability to support designated loads without breaking apart or collapsing, can lead to catastrophic damages, monetary losses for operating companies, and even death. That’s why the identification of structural failure and prediction of failure are such a critical aspect of wind farm operations, like Arctic Wind.

Other challenges facing the Arctic Wind team include pitch darkness for many months of the year and the logistical nightmare of transporting spare parts, crews, and other resources under extreme conditions.

Outcome and Implications

Fedem Technology, recently acquired by SAP, addresses Arctic Wind’s structural monitoring requirements with a cutting-edge cloud solution for digital inspections of high-value industrial assets. With this tool, Fedem created a digital representation of Arctic Wind’s physical system and maintains its digital twin in the SAP Cloud. Real-time data from sensors continuously reflects and represents the physical reality, replacing the need for physical inspections with digital inspections of the turbines.

The solution for Windpower considers complex forces in play and detects both instantaneous consequences of one-off events and long-term effects of cyclic loads, setting the stage for new ways of managing and predicting the remaining life of the asset. By accurately mirroring the physical state of the object, in the long run, the product will enable self-diagnosing, self-repairing, and self-regulating systems. This opens the path to higher efficiency, improved safety, less downtime, and lower costs.

Quotes

“We are always mindful about the weather, a remote wind farm in Havoysund, Norway.  Winds can howl by at 100 miles per hour here, and it’s not unusual for temperatures to plunge 25° below zero. We always have a backup plan for major maintenance operations.” said Richard Wasell, Chief Engineer at Arctic Wind

“We’re always looking for new ways to do things. So when Fedem approached us with a proposal to try new technology, we jumped at it.” said Richard Wasell, Chief Engineer at Arctic Wind

“The more knowledge we have about the wind farm, the better our decision making will be. It will be that much easier to focus our resources and prioritize our actions.” said Richard Wasell, Chief Engineer at Arctic Wind