UK-based Cognitive Business has been appointed to provide a complete package of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and forecasting technology to RWE’s 174 MW Robin Rigg offshore wind farm in Scotland.
Under the contract, Cognitive Business will provide a suite of AI, pattern recognition, and production forecasting technology that could enable RWE to predict with certainty the direction of maintenance programmes and maximise operational performance across its site.
As part of the technology suite, Cognitive Business is delivering a range of physics and machine learning-based data modelling to Robin Rigg that could drive real cost savings and deliver accurate and cost-effective maintenance programmes based on precise data analysis, the company said.
The technology will enable RWE to plot with real-time accuracy the operation of maintenance vessels, predict movement in and out of a port faced with tidal restrictions, pinpoint the most profitable turbines so maintenance programmes can be directed elsewhere, and compare previous year’s performance and direct activity to rectify anomalies, according to the press release.
“Robin Rigg is a mature windfarm and RWE is an experienced farm operator, but we are still very much engaged with finding the solutions that draw out the remaining opportunities to make additional savings and drive further efficiencies. Cognitive’s technology enables us to do exactly that”, said Gregg McConell , Operations Co-ordinator at RWE and project lead at Robin Rigg.
Robin Rigg was the first commercial offshore wind farm to be located in Scottish waters.
The offshore wind farm comprises 58 wind turbines and the project started full generation in 2010. Robin Rigg generates enough electricity to power about 117,000 homes and offsets around 230,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.