US wind farms using big data to manage lightning-struck turbines
Global renewables firm EDPR is using big data to manage its turbines in lightning-prone US wind farms. Unable to inspect every turbine after lightning strikes, EDPR has installed sensors in its 250 wind farms to detect the strikes and uses data analytics to predict which turbines were most likely affected, reportedly with a 29-30% rate of accuracy.
Portuguese utility EDPR is using Big Data in order to reduce damages from lightning that are an issue particularly in the United States, where lightning intensity is bigger than in most other world areas, Jaimeet Gulati, associate director for global performance management, said.

Given the scale of US wind farms – some feature 150 turbines– the utility can’t inspect each turbine when a storm with lightning is detected, nor is there a real alarm being produced by y turbine when it gets tuck by lighting, Gulati said at a recent conference on Big Data in Berlin.

But