To provide affordable, stable, resilient and reliable green energy, the system science that brings wind turbines, wind farms and grid operations together is of great importance, as also highlighted by Veers et al. in the Grand challenges in the science of wind energy. Such holistic consideration of the turbines’ collective operation within a wind farm (as well as within clusters of wind farms and larger energy systems such as hybrid power plants) connected to the grid (referred to as wind farm control, WFC or park level control) typically includes mitigation of wake effects (referred to as wind farm flow control, WFFC) as well as advanced provision of grid services and enhancement of system stability (referred to as wind power plant control, WPPC) More recently, additional objectives and constraints such as variable electricity markets and revenue as well as environmental and social aspects that are relevant for wind park operation are also gaining interest. Additionally, higher level operation management of larger assets including hybrid power plants, floating wind turbines and far offshore wind power plants in the energy mix is an increasingly important research gap towards 2050 climate targets.

The main sub-themes in this Sub-Programme are : 

• Digitalisation of maintenance and optimisation tools for operational efficiency
• Autonomous Operations and Maintenance
• Digital Ecosystems
• Replacement and transport of major components