Airtricity chooses Power Measurement to monitor energy production at wind farm in Ireland

The Green energy firm Airtricity has chosen an ION(R) enterprise energy management system from Power Measurement to monitor electricity production at its Corneen wind park in Ireland. Located on the Slieve Rushen Mountain in County Cavan, the site's two 1.5 megawatt wind turbines produce three megawatts of clean electricity for the Irish electricity grid - enough power to serve approximately 2,000 households. To maximize the efficiency, reliability and power quality of this installation, Power Measurement's regional representative, Premium Power, has equipped each turbine with one ION 7600(TM) intelligent energy meter. The meters then report back to a PC workstation running Power Measurement's ION Enterprise(TM)software at the Airtricity headquarters in Dublin.

According to Eddie O'Connor, Chief Executive of Airtricity, this energy management system performs three primary functions: advanced power-quality analysis, condition monitoring, and revenue-certified energy metering. "At Corneen, we're using some of the most advanced wind turbine technology available, so when we considered metering equipment, we wanted something equally capable," said O'Connor. "In addition to metering the output of each turbine, each ION 7600 monitors vital operating conditions such as temperature, oil pres-sure, and critical vibration levels. With this information, we can ensure that each turbine is operating as efficiently as possible, schedule maintenance appropriately, and respond quickly to any potentially disruptive conditions."

Reliable communications are also important because, like many wind farms, the remote location of the Corneen installation makes each site visit an expensive and time-consuming process. Fortunately the ION 7600 offers several flexible communications options that can accommodate remote monitoring and control in several ways, including modem over landline or satellite. And to accommodate future upgrades and expansion, each meter can send status reports and alarms via e-mail over Ethernet, and even host its own onboard web page. With advanced power-quality analysis, condition monitoring, and revenue-
certified energy metering, the ION enterprise energy management system is a vital component of this innovative wind farm application, helping to maximize the potential of wind as a renewable source of clean, reliable electricity.