Renewable Energy
Across the canonical onshore wind reliability dataset, electrical systems fail more often than any other major subsystem — and most cable connection points in onshore wind and utility-scale solar go unmonitored.
The Stakes
Onshore wind farms and utility-scale solar plants are cable-intensive infrastructure. A single 100 MW solar plant can include more than 200,000 cable connection points. Onshore wind collection systems multiply medium-voltage splices and terminations across miles of buried cable feeding each turbine into the substation.
Decades of field data make clear that the electrical subsystem is the most failure-prone part of an onshore wind fleet. The long-running Fraunhofer WMEP dataset — covering ~1,500 turbines — puts the electrical system at the top of the failure-rate rankings, ahead of every other major subsystem including gearboxes and generators. For utility-scale solar, the sheer number of connection points compounds the same problem: every connector is a potential failure site, and inspection happens only between scheduled maintenance visits.
Cable failures translate directly into lost generation revenue and missed availability targets in PPA contracts that were financed on the assumption of high uptime. Continuous, condition-based monitoring of those connection points — rather than periodic inspection — is the practical path to closing the visibility gap.
Across the canonical Fraunhofer WMEP dataset of ~1,500 onshore wind turbines, the electrical system records the highest failure rate of any major turbine subsystem — ahead of gearbox, generator, and every other category.
Source: Fraunhofer IWESApproximate number of cable connectors in a single 100 MW utility-scale solar plant — each one a potential failure point over a 25-year operating life.
Source: NREL / Sandia / EPRIHow We Help
•Fit for onshore wind and utility-scale solar
Designed for the buried medium-voltage collection cables and module-level interconnections of onshore wind farms and utility-scale solar plants, where access and infrastructure make continuous monitoring practical to deploy today.
•Protecting generation revenue
Every hour of unplanned outage is lost MWh sales. Continuous monitoring catches cable connection degradation early, turning emergency repairs into planned ones and preserving capacity factor.
•Bringing visibility to the highest-failing subsystem
Electrical and cable subsystems consistently rank as the most failure-prone components in onshore wind and solar fleets. Continuous condition monitoring directly addresses the category that drives the most unplanned events.
•Supporting PPA availability commitments
Renewable projects financed against PPA availability guarantees can't afford unplanned outages eating into committed capacity. Continuous condition data helps operators stay ahead of failures that would otherwise trigger contract penalties.