MOXA > Case Studies > Remote Monitoring and Control for a Windmill Generator

Remote Monitoring and Control for a Windmill Generator

Technology Category

Automation & Control - Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA)
Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
Networks & Connectivity - Ethernet

Applicable Industries

Renewable Energy

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Use Cases

Remote Control

The Challenge

As concerns over global warming continue to grow, green technologies are becoming increasingly popular. Wind turbine companies provide an excellent alternative to burning fossil fuels by harnessing kinetic energy from the wind and converting it into electricity. A typical wind farm may include over 80 wind turbines so efficient and reliable networks to manage and control these installations are imperative. Each wind turbine includes a generator and a variety of serial components such as a water cooler, high voltage transformer, ultrasonic wind sensors, yaw gear, blade bearing, pitch cylinder, and hub controller. All of these components are controlled by a PLC and communicate with the ground host. Due to the total integration of these devices into an Ethernet network, one of our customers in the wind turbine industry needed a serial-to-Ethernet solution that can operate reliably for years without interruption.

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The Solution

Moxa's NPort® 5210 device server can convert industrial serial devices inside the wind turbine into Ethernet devices. By installing the NPort® 5210, the host PC in the station running the SCADA system can communicate with the PLC to perform data analysis, system control, and maintenance from any network location or even the Internet. The NPort® 5210's small size and easy configuration allow it to fit perfectly inside the wind turbine. Furthermore, the Ethernet is connected to a remote control station via a Turbo Ring redundant network. Product Solutions: NPort 5210/NPort 5230/NPort 5232 Series 2-port RS-232/422/485 serial device servers

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Data Collected

Device Diagnostic Status, Per-Unit Maintenance Costs, Wind Speed

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Operational Impact

[Efficiency Improvement - Maintenance]
Long mean (average) time between failures with high reliability and effective system maintenance
[Efficiency Improvement - Deployment]
Small size for easy configuration
[Data Management - Connectivity Stability]
High performance serial-to-Ethernet solution

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