A method to assess the performance of small wind turbines

Abstract

While large wind farms are well monitored, with a wealth of data provided through a SCADA system, the only information about the behaviour of small wind turbines is often only through the metered electricity production. Given the variable electricity output, it is difficult to ascertain whether a particular electricity production in a metering period is the result of the turbine operating normally, or if a fault is resulting in a production less than possible. This paper presents a method to correlate metered electricity output from a set of 5 kW wind turbines with weather information from a weather station some distance from the turbine. That correlation will then be classified into ‘expected’ and ‘unusual’ performance using Principal Component Analysis.