The independent power producer Terra-Gen is upgrading 20 Vestas V47 wind turbines on its Pacific Crest wind farm in Tehachapi, California, with a control retrofit solution from the Danish company, DEIF.
The increased demand for competitive power production and the rapid development in the wind industry necessitates that older turbine models such as the Vestas V47 are equipped to meet today’s performance standards.
DEIF’s control retrofit solution extends the turbine lifetime and optimizes the turbine performance in terms of variable speed concepts, extended cut-out and adaptive power setpoint. So far, 20 Vestas V47s on the Pacific Crest Wind Farm will be retrofitted.
“We strive to run our turbines efficiently — at the lowest cost,” said Ward Scobee, chief operating officer at Terra-Gen. “The Pacific Crest Wind Farm is a high-wind site, and the cost of downtime is critical. So, with the controller upgrade and thus performance optimizations, I am convinced that we will extend turbine lifetime, reduce our downtime, and increase the revenue of the total wind farm.”
With a DEIF retrofit control solution for Vestas V47, the turbines can operate without the VRCC and at the same time run above 600 kW and as close to the rated power level as possible. For Terra-Gen, the retrofit solution from DEIF means they have no VRCC-related costs such as spare parts, lost production due to downtime, and derating, and they aim to reach a three-year ROI.
“The upgrade of the turbines on the Pacific Crest Wind Farm sets new standards for lifetime extension, performance optimization, and secures availability without the VRCC,” said Jean Felber, sales and business development manager at DEIF.
More info www.deif.com
