Digital Operations And Maintenance Needed For India’s Wind Sector Growth

Independent power producers (IPPs) operating in India’s wind power sector need to exploit digital tools to ensure a more strategic approach to Operations and Maintenance (O&M).

This is according to the latest research from analytics company ONYX Insight which suggests, India’s focus on acquiring assets that come with maintenance packages has led to limitations on the industry reaching its potential.

Research suggests that average O&M costs account for 60% of wind farm operating expenses, and in India, this average is higher, according to ONYX.

Instead of being able to take ownership of their own O&M workflow, many owner–operators are relying on the often-inconsistent fulfilment of OEM maintenance obligations to ensure asset longevity.

OEM servicing in India is not always fully reliable, compounded by a low supply of spare parts and a lack of asset health insights, leaving the wind industry underserviced and inefficient.

This is leading IPPs to look for an alternative to regain independence and become empowered to develop their own operations and maintenance strategies.

Sixty-two percent of wind industry stakeholders believe that access to data is the biggest barrier to digital advancement.

But by harnessing digital solutions and taking ownership of their own maintenance, ONYX research suggests that operators can reduce downtime and unplanned repairs for up to 10 years and reduce their levelised cost of energy by up to 12%.

Digital solutions enable fleet-wide asset condition to be monitored and predictive maintenance to be applied.

Workflows can be streamlined to assign priority and severity to individual cases and enable smoother communication between servicing teams.

With so much potential left to tap into, Indian IPPs must build on prior learning to avoid the mistakes made on the global community’s, and India’s, journey to full-fledged wind energy reliance.

Forward-looking technological investment can and will accelerate India’s growth much closer to the levels seen on the global stage.