Digitalisation to empower India's wind industry's IPPs operators

India's wind industry-independent power producers (IPPs) must adopt digitalisation to empower their decision making with independent, reliable, and strategically-led operations and maintenance (O&M) technology.

According to a UK-based ONYX Insight, data analytics consultancy, a constant focus on acquiring assets that come with maintenance packages has limited the industry's ability to fulfil its full potential.

A research revealed that average O&M expenditures account for 60% of wind farm operating expenses, and this average is greater in India.

Many owners-operators are depending on the often-inconsistent fulfilment of original equipment manufacturers' (OEM) maintenance requirements to maintain asset lifespan, rather than being able to take control of their own O&M process.

OEM service in India isn't always up to pace due to a scarcity of spare parts and a lack of asset health data, leaving the wind industry inefficient.

As a result, IPPs are looking for a way to reclaim their independence and acquire the ability to establish their own operations and maintenance policies.

Sharath Prabhakaran, business development manager at ONYX Insight in India, digitalisation is that alternative.

Prabhakaran told the media that an operator's capacity to cope with a variety of issues is hampered by a lack of digital technology.

Small defects that go undetected can silently develop, resulting in catastrophic failures and substantial downtime later. With no immediate view of asset health and no methods of issue forecasting, minor faults can silently worsen, resulting in catastrophic failures and major downtime later.

He said addressing problems only when they are most important wastes time and money, with clumsy case management systems stuck between data silos posing further efficiency obstacles.

According to ONYX, 62% of wind industry stakeholders think that data access is the biggest obstacle to digital advancement.

Operators can cut downtime and unexpected repairs for up to ten years and lower their levelised cost of energy by up to 12% by using digital technologies and taking control of their own maintenance.

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