The useful service life expectancy of wind turbines has been questioned in the past – but it seems older turbines still perform well.
Wind power may seem to have burst onto the energy generation scene only in the last decade, but in some parts of the world wind turbines have been in operation for nearly two decades. This duration has provided enough time to gauge if the power generators will last the expected 25 years.
A previous study based on a statistical model had cast doubts on this; finding that electricity output declines by a third after only a decade of operation. That study was based on average estimates of wind speeds nationally.
A new study by researchers from Imperial College Business School based on nationwide analysis on the UK’s wind turbines and using local wind speed data from NASA determined 25 years was on the money.
The researchers found turbines built in the 1990’s are still generating at three-quarters of their original nameplate capacity after 19 years of service and newer turbines would likely perform even better over the long term.
“There have been concerns about the costs of maintaining ageing wind farms and whether they are worth investing in,” said Professor Richard Green, co-author and Head of the Department of Management at Imperial College Business School.
“This study gives a ‘thumbs up’ to the technology and shows that renewable energy is an asset for the long term.”
The performance of older wind turbines over their life span was found to be comparable to that of gas turbines used in electricity generation. Newer wind turbines (post-2003) are performing even better due to improvements in technology and proactive maintenance; where problems are resolved before resulting in lengthy and expensive breakdowns.
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Trivia: Australia’s first commercial wind farm was the 360kW Salmon Beach Wind Farm near Esperance in Western Australia. The 6-turbine facility operated for 15 years from 1987.
