In this article, a parametric model for health condition monitoring of wind turbines is developed. The study is based on the assumption that a wind turbine’s health condition can be modeled through three features: rotor speed, gearbox temperature and generator winding temperature. At first, three neural network models are created to simulate normal behavior of each feature. Deviation signals are then defined and calculated as accumulated time-series of differences between neural network predictions and actual measurements. These cumulative signals carry health condition–related information. Next, through nonlinear regression technique, the signals are used to produce individual models for considered features, which mathematically have the form of proportional hazard models. Finally, they are combined to construct an overall parametric health condition model which partially represents health condition of the wind turbine. In addition, a dynamic threshold for the model is developed to facilitate and add more insight in performance monitoring aspect. The health condition monitoring of wind turbine model has capability of evaluating real-time and overall health condition of a wind turbine which can also be used with regard to maintenance in electricity generation in electric power systems. The model also has flexibility to overcome current challenges such as scalability and adaptability. The model is verified in illustrating changes in real-time and overall health condition with respect to considered anomalies by testing through actual and artificial data.

This paper proposes an approach for maintenancemanagement of wind turbines based on their life. The proposedapproach uses performance analysis and anomaly detection(PAAD) which can detect anomalies and point out the originof the detected anomalies. This PAAD algorithm utilizes neuralnetwork (NN) technique in order to detect anomalies in theperformance of the wind turbine (system layer), and then appliesprincipal component analysis (PCA) technique to uncover theroot of the detected anomalies (component layer). To validatethe accuracy of the proposed algorithm, SCADA data obtainedfrom online condition monitoring of a wind turbine are utilized.The results demonstrate that the proposed PAAD algorithm hasthe capability of exposing the cause of the anomalies. Reducingtime and cost of maintenance and increasing availability and inreturn profits in form of savings are some of the benefits of theproposed PAAD algorithm.

The issue of applying high performance computing (HPC) techniques to computation-intensive probabilistic optimal power flow has not been well discussed in literature. In this paper, the probabilistic convex AC OPF based on second order cone programming (P-SOCPF) is formulated. The application of P-SOCPF is demonstrated by accounting uncertainties of loads. To estimate the distributions of nodal prices calculated from PSOCPF, two point estimation method (2PEM) is deployed. By comparing with Monte Carlo (MC) method, the accuracy of 2PEM is proved numerically. The computation efficiency of 2PEM outperforms MC significantly. In the context of large scale estimation, we propose to apply high performance computing (HPC) to P-SOCPF. The HPC accelerated P-SOCPF is implemented in GAMS grid computing environment. A flexible parallel management algorithm is designed to assign execution threads to different CPUs and then collect completed solutions. Numerical results from IEEE 118-bus and modified 1354pegase case network demonstrate that grid computing is effective means to speed up large scale P-SOCPF computation. The speed up of P-SOCPF computation is approximately equal to the number of cores in the computation node.

This paper proposes an approach for stress condition monitoring and maintenance assessment in wind turbines (WTs) through large amounts of collected data from the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. The objectives of the proposed approach are to provide a stress condition model for health monitoring, to assess the WT’s maintenance strategies, and to provide recommendations on current maintenance schemes for future operations of the wind farm. At first, several statistical techniques, namely principal component analysis, Pearson, Spearman and Kendall correlations, mutual information, regressional ReliefF and decision trees are used and compared to assess the data for dimensionality reduction and parameter selection. Next, a normal behavior model is constructed by an artificial neural network which performs condition monitoring analysis. Then, a model based on the mathematical form of a proportional hazards model is developed where it represents the stress condition of the WT. Finally, those two models are jointly employed in order to analyze the overall performance of the WT over the study period. Several cases are analyzed with five-year SCADA data and maintenance information is utilized to develop and validate the proposed approach.

Gearbox has proven to be a major contributor toward downtime in wind turbines. The majority of failures in the gearbox originate from the gearbox bearings. An early indication of possible wear and tear in the gearbox bearings may be used for effective predictive maintenance, thereby reducing the overall cost of maintenance. This paper introduces a self-evolving maintenance scheduler framework for maintenance management of wind turbines. Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN)-based condition monitoring approach using data from supervisory control and data acquisition system is proposed. The ANN-based condition monitoring approach is applied to gearbox bearings with real data from onshore wind turbines, rated 2 MW, and located in the south of Sweden. The results demonstrate that the proposed ANN-based condition monitoring approach is capable of indicating severe damage in the components being monitored in advance.

This paper consolidates the data, analysis andobservations from a case study conducted in cooperation withthe Smart Grid Gotland project. The analysis identifies howelectrical power consumption interacts with distributedelectricity generation such as wind and solar power andpresents how it correlates to weather data and smart gridsolutions. The analysis model developed based on the Gotlandnetwork is generic and hence can be functional in investigatingother power networks of different size, voltage level andstructures. The key observations from the study of smart gridsolutions such as dynamic load capacity and energy storagesolutions are specified. Based on the project, an overview offuture risks and opportunities of smart grid systems is presented.

Global policy targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have led to increased interest in plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) and their integration into the electricity network. Existing electricity markets, however, are not well suited to encourage direct participation of flexible demand from small consumers such as PEV owners. The introduction of an aggregator agent with the functions of gathering, aggregating, controlling and representing the energy needs of PEV owners in the electricity market could prove useful in this regard. In this chapter, a mathematical model of PEV aggregator for participation in the day-ahead electricity market is described. The modeling is done by treating each of the individual vehicle batteries as a single large battery. The centralized charging and discharging of this battery is then scheduled based on the traveling needs of the PEV owners determined by an aggregated driving profile and the cumulative electrical energy needs of vehicles over the optimization horizon. Two methods for scheduling PEV demand named as joint scheduling method (JSM) and aggregator scheduling method (ASM) are presented. The two methods are subsequently used to observe the effects of introducing flexible scheduling of PEVs on the day-ahead market price in an IEEE test system and a Nordic test system. Results from the IEEE test system case studies will indicate that the scheduling of PEV energy through direct centralized control at high PEV penetration levels of 50 % or greater could lead to potential lowering of day-ahead market prices as compared to an indirect control method such as the use of fixed period charging. Results from the Nordic test system case study shows that controlled scheduling of PEV demand could lead to only a small increase in day-ahead market price of electricity.

Smart Meters (SMs) offer remote switching functionalities to the Distribution System Operators (DSOs). The DSO can switch the breaker of the SM of any customer remotely whenever needed. The DSOs are currently applying this technique for customers typically one by one when customers are changing their addresses or when contracts are terminated. The breaker functionalities of the SMs could be used for multiple customers, thereby opening up new possibilities to balance electricity consumption and production. How the technology has been functioning in practice has, however, not been fully investigated with regard to multiple SM switching. In this paper, the experience from real tests on simultaneous multiple SM switching is presented. The tests have been conducted to observe the effect of SM switching on power quality (PQ). Power Quality Meters (PQMs) had been used both at the substation as well as the customer level to measure the PQ during SM switching. This paper presents the results by showing current measurements during switching ON and OFF of multiple SMs belonging to each substation.

Smart Meters (SMs) are undergoing an increasing deployment all over the world and have been introduced to several regions. The SMs generally have remotely accessible breakers which offer remote switching functionalities to the Distribution System Operators (DSOs). The DSOs have the possibility of using this unique functionality of SMs for various future applications, e.g., switching some loads during peak loads crisis or outage management during natural disasters. Under these conditions, the DSO can disconnect selected customers by using SM switching while continuing power supply to risk customers and emergency service providers. During multiple SM switching, the power quality (PQ) of the connected loads might be affected. This paper presents results on the impact of multiple SM switching at customer level. Data are used from a field test on multiple SM switching from a DSO in Sweden. The number of customers in this test was higher compared to the previous two tests of the work. Moreover, all customers in the selected test area were not switched in this test. Almost half of the customers in the test area were disconnected remotely using SMs while the other half of the customers remained connected with power supply to investigate the impact of SMs switching in a different way. This work observed some transient events during the SMs switching. Voltage quality was stable during the test except some flickering effects beyond the limit.

This paper provides an approach to investigate the impacts of wind power (WP) and demand side management (DSM) on the day-ahead electricity market prices. A market model incorporating demand scheduling has been developed for the study, to assess whether there are any mutual economic benefits between WP and scheduling of electric heating demand. A case study performed on a representative Nordic system with a scenario for future WP development in the Nordic electricity market has been carried out. The study results show that DSM could reduce the revenue for the WP producers, up to 2%. On the other hand, WP could result in reduced heating cost, up to 10%, for the customers. However, with an objective of reducing the total system cost, customers in some areas could experience an increase in electricity price even after providing their flexible demand to the market.