Managing costs and review for icing problems

Abstract

The weather conditions have a key role in energy production of wind farms. Ice can appear in regions with cold conditions or during winter season. Ice on blades reduces the efficiency of the turbines, increases failures and downtime and causes imbalance of the rotor. This results in power losses which can be translating in operational costs that can reach millions of euros. Therefore, it is necessary to research and develop new methods for detection, prevention and removal of ice from blades. This chapter presents the current state of the art on ice detection and mitigation. Various techniques of detection, anti-icing and de-icing tare considered. Finally, an economic analysis of a selection of commercial ice detection systems is carried out.