IEA wind task 33 - Reliability data standardization of data collection for wind turbine reliability and operation & maintenance analyses

Cooperative research on issues affecting wind energy is performed as the numbered R&D Tasks of IEA Wind. The new IEA Wind Task 33 «Reliability Data - Standardization of Data Collection for Wind Turbine Reliability and Operation and Maintenance Analyses» started in 2012. The purpose of Task 33 is to bring together the present actors in the industry and research community to create synergies and agreements in the many R&D activities already on-going in the field of operation and maintenance analyses and statistical failure analysis. Consequently, Task 33 has three main aims: First, to provide an open forum on failure and maintenance statistics on wind turbines for exchange of experience from individual research projects; Second, to develop an IEA Wind recommended practice for collecting and reporting reliability data; Third, to identify research, development, and standardization needs for collecting and reporting reliability data. Task 33 addresses different developments of data collection and failure statistics to agree on standards and overall structures. Experience has shown that reliability as well as operation and maintenance procedures can be improved and costs reduced when maintenance strategies are based on sound statistical approaches. To optimize reliability and availability of wind power plants, Task 33 works to standardize data collection and compares different data sources. To do this, collaborations are established among different initiatives to share or group some of the data.