The industry-funded project SOPWICO (Smart Operation of Wind Power Plants in Cold Climate) started in July 2022 and had a duration of 32 months, including two test winters (2022/23 and 2023/24).
Within the project, vgbe energy worked together with eight operator members to investigate how rotor blade heating systems in wind farms located in cold climate regions can be strategically optimized. The project was conducted by Meteotest AG.
Operational data from four wind farms served as the basis for the analyses. All turbines were equipped with heated blades using different technical concepts:
- Hot-air heating systems, where heated air circulates inside the rotor blade
- Electrothermal heating elements, laminated into the blade surface
Project Objective
The objective of the project was to develop approaches based on SCADA data and meteorological information to better understand and optimize the timing of heating cycles. The focus was on strategically improving the operational control of rotor blade heating systems in order to reduce icing-related energy losses and enable a more time-optimized operation.
Key Results
The results clearly demonstrate:
- Icing-related energy losses are real and economically relevant.
- Forecast-based control of rotor blade heating can improve energy production.
- Purely reactive operation (based solely on ice detection systems) often results in inefficient heating cycles.
The developed algorithm proved capable of reliably identifying icing periods and provides a structured basis for further improving heating strategies. At the same time, it became clear that field tests under real operating conditions are a necessary next step to robustly quantify the actual economic benefit.
We would like to sincerely thank all participating operators for the open technical exchange, as well as Meteotest AG, with whom we are now successfully completing our third joint project.
As an association, we see our role in enabling collaborative industry projects of this kind and actively supporting the transfer of research results into operational practice.
