GE Launches the Next Evolution of Wind Energy Making Renewables More Efficient, Economic: the Digital Wind Farm
May 19 2015 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
- Industrial Brawn Meets Software Brains
as GE Harnesses the Industrial Internet to Build the World’s Most
Efficient Wind Farm
- Use of Sensors, Data Networks and
Analytics Create Turbines that Are Customized for Peak Efficiency
of up to 20 Percent More in Annual Energy Production
- Combined Technology Could Deliver up to
an Estimated $50 Billion in Value Across the Wind Industry1 if
Applied to All 50 Gigawatts of Wind Being Installed this Year
GE (NYSE:GE) today announced the launch of its Digital Wind
Farm, a dynamic, connected and adaptable wind energy ecosystem
that pairs world-class turbines with the digital infrastructure for
the wind industry. The technology boosts a wind farm’s energy
production by up to 20 percent and could help generate up to an
estimated $50 billion of value for the wind industry.
The Digital Wind Farm uses interconnected digital
technology—often referred to as the Industrial Internet—to address
a long-standing need for greater flexibility in renewable power.
The technology will help integrate renewable power into the
existing power grid more effectively.
“Every business—including our own at GE—and every industry is
being transformed by smarter digital technologies, and the greatest
opportunity lies in energy,” said Steve Bolze, president and CEO of
GE Power & Water. “The question is not whether to start down
this path … it’s about knowing how to get the most out of your
digital transformation. That’s what will separate industry leaders
from those left behind.”
GE is leading the transformation of the wind power industry with
today’s launch of the world’s first Digital Wind Farm. This new
wind ecosystem pairs world-class turbines with a digital
infrastructure to enhance production, reduce costs and boost
operating efficiency over the life of the wind farm.
The Digital Wind Farm ecosystem begins with the production of
the turbines themselves. With the next generation of Brilliant wind
turbines, GE’s new 2-megawatt platform utilizes a digital twin
modeling system to build up to 20 different turbine configurations
at every unique pad location across a wind farm in order to
generate power at peak efficiency based on the surrounding
environment. Additionally, each turbine will be connected to
advanced networks that can analyze turbine operations in real time
and make adjustments to boost operating efficiencies.
Once the turbines are built, their embedded sensors are
connected and the data gathered from them is analyzed in real time
with GE’s Predix software, which allows operators to monitor
performance from data across turbines, farms or even entire
industry fleets. The data provides information on temperature,
turbine misalignments or vibrations that can affect
performance.
As more data is collected, the system actually learns over time,
becoming more predictive and “future-proofing” wind farms by
maintaining top performance and avoiding the maintenance issues
that typically occur as turbines age. It also reduces costs by
customizing maintenance schedules to ensure preventive maintenance
is done only when needed.
“GE’s focus on life-cycle operations is consistent with the way
we operate our wind farms,” said Michael Polsky, president and CEO
of leading energy company Invenergy. “We look forward to
working together with GE’s Digital Wind Farm to unlock even more
long-term value across our fleet.”
The Digital Wind Farm builds on GE’s Wind PowerUp* technology,
which was unveiled 18 months ago. Now installed in 4,000 units, the
technology has improved turbine efficiency up to 5 percent, which
translates to up to a 20 percent improvement in profitability for
each turbine.
“Big data is worthless without the insight to take action, and
our vision for the industry is to use today’s data to predict
tomorrow’s outcomes,” said Bolze. “By harnessing the full power of
the Industrial Internet, we can create a world where wind farms
learn, adapt and perform better tomorrow than they do today.”
Please tune in to GE's live webcast on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at
7 p.m. EDT at gepower.com/windwebcast to watch GE and its customers
reveal the Digital Wind Farm.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) imagines things others don’t, builds things others
can’t and delivers outcomes that make the world work better. GE
brings together the physical and digital worlds in ways no other
company can. In its labs and factories and on the ground with
customers, GE is inventing the next industrial era to move, power,
build and cure the world. www.ge.com
About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of
power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to
solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all
areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as
wind and solar; biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil,
natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced
technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges
related to water availability and quality. Power & Water’s six
business units include Distributed Power, Nuclear Energy, Power
Generation Products, Power Generation Services, Renewable Energy
and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady,
N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.
Follow GE Power & Water and GE’s renewables business on
Twitter @GE_PowerWater and @GErenewables.
* Trademark of General Electric Company.
____________________________________
1 Hypothetically - if every wind turbine installed worldwide in
2015 (~50GW) used the latest GE turbines and technology - it would
increase customer value by an estimated $50 billion over the life
of these wind turbines - (50GWs * $50M per GW/yr*20yrs)
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150519005474/en/
GE Power & WaterNikolas Noel, +1
518-385-6090nikolas.noel@ge.comorKatie Jackson, +1
518-385-5976katie.jackson@ge.com
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