Onyx Insight, a global provider of condition monitoring services (CMS) to the wind industry, has received funding from the UK’s Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP) to further develop its blade sensor technology. The project aims to reduce downtime for wind operators across their turbine fleets by expanding Onyx Insight’s predictive maintenance solutions from the drivetrain into the blades. The funding will support a major project over the next 18 months and builds on the success of Onyx’s wind turbine drivetrain condition monitoring product, ecoCMS, which is used by operators worldwide.
“The funding from OWGP provides us with a welcome grant to accelerate the development of advanced sensing for the blades,” said Bruce Hall, CEO of Onyx Insight. “It also acknowledges the work we have been doing to develop holistic approaches to CMS that provide ever more detailed and wide-ranging data insights for our customers.”
Blade failure is one of the leading contributors to offshore and onshore asset downtime after gearbox faults. Catastrophic blade failure in onshore settings can cost upwards of £300,000 in materials, equipment, labour and unscheduled downtime, and can be many times higher in an offshore setting. However, if this same fault is predicted and remedied when it is less severe, repairs can be significantly less.
“Identifying when and where maintenance for wind blades is needed has been traditionally difficult for the industry, with operators often having to rely on drone technology, manual maintenance by technicians, or having to act once a fault occurs,” said Henry Tanner, Product Manager, Onyx Insight. “Blade failures can incur expensive blade repairs and replacements, result in secondary damage to the wind turbine structure, not to mention huge safety implications for the industry. Predictive maintenance allows operators to tackle progressive blade faults sooner at a relatively low cost, which means they can put in place predictive maintenance strategies lowering turbine downtime and cost savings through lost production.”
OWGP funding is provided to projects that focus on the commercialisation of technologies, products and services that will either support offshore wind decarbonisation or improve the reliability and robustness of offshore wind developments.
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Onyx Insight collects data directly from more than 14,000 turbines across 30 countries across the globe. The adoption of blade monitoring technologies is expected to increase over the coming years, delivering significant financial and time savings for wind operators.
“The grant will enable us to continue to develop holistic approaches to CMS that provide ever more detailed and wide-ranging data insights for our customers,” said Tanner.
