Condition Monitoring of Power Electronics for Offshore Wind

Reliability is vital for the success of offshore wind, which is a significant part of the future energy landscape. Power-electronic converters are used in all existing offshore turbines and will be present in most future designs. The relatively high failure rate of the current generation of power-electronic converters has become an issue, as more and more turbines are deployed offshore. This article presents a review of the ageing-to-failure mechanisms of converters in the context of wind turbine application, stressing the impacts of incessant thermal cycling associated with the reduced frequency operation on the generator side. Possible ways of condition monitoring are discussed for improving reliability and availability. A cost–benefit analysis of condition monitoring is carried out for justification.