How SunDesh Improved Generation from an Ageing Wind Fleet by 20 percent
Project Overview
Project TennyFox was a wind asset management engagement for a large industrial house that owned two wind turbine generators. The assets were located in a geographical state different from where the client had its production and business operations.
The client had invested in the WTGs to support carbon footprint reduction. However, energy generation was not its core business, and the remotely located assets had limited day-to-day operational oversight.
The wind fleet was supplied by a global OEM and was more than 12 years old. Over time, generation started declining due to a combination of reduced peak wind speeds, ageing equipment, poor monitoring of equipment upkeep, and grid-related issues.
SunDesh was brought in to assess the future potential of the WTGs, improve machine and grid availability, and recover more value from the existing wind assets.
The Client Context
The client’s core business was not energy generation. As a result, the remotely located wind assets did not receive continuous operational attention.
The key concern was simple: the turbines were generating less power, but the reason was not fully clear. Wind speeds had reduced in the region, but limited monitoring and inconsistent upkeep made it difficult to identify how much loss was avoidable.
The Challenge
The performance decline was linked to multiple factors:
- Ageing wind turbine generators
- Reduction in peak wind speeds over two years
- Remote asset location
- Limited site visits and physical oversight
- Poor visibility into equipment condition
- Gaps in preventive maintenance
- Grid availability and curtailment issues
- Limited internal capability to assess future asset potential
The client needed answers to two questions:
- What was the realistic generation potential of the WTGs?
- Could performance improve without fresh capital investment?
SunDesh’s Assessment
SunDesh reviewed the complete performance chain of the assets, including:
- Historical generation trends
- Machine availability
- Grid availability
- Maintenance practices
- Breakdown response time
- OEM involvement
- O&M contract terms
- SCADA monitoring capability
The assessment showed that the assets still had recoverable potential. The opportunity was not to replace the turbines, but to manage them better.
The Solution
SunDesh focused on controllable losses and implemented a structured asset management plan.
- Preventive Maintenance: Preventive maintenance was carried out before the wind season to improve machine availability during the most important generation period.
- Real-Time Monitoring: The assets were brought under 24×7 SCADA-based monitoring, improving visibility into breakdowns, downtime, and underperformance.
- Faster Breakdown Response: SunDesh’s technical experts monitored issues closely and worked to reduce turnaround time during breakdowns.
- OEM Coordination: A WTG Performance Improvement Plan was put in place with the global OEM to identify technical gaps and follow up on corrective actions.
- Grid Availability Improvement: SunDesh worked with the transmission company to reduce curtailment and improve grid availability during the wind season.
- O&M Contract Optimisation: The O&M contract was renegotiated, resulting in a ₹5 lakh cost reduction with better terms for the client.
The Results
The impact was visible in the first year of active asset management.
| Metric | Before | After |
| WTG 1 annual generation | 26,11,981 kWh | 32,18,486 kWh |
| WTG 2 annual generation | 25,33,339 kWh | 30,05,579 kWh |
Business Impact
SunDesh’s interventions delivered:
- 20% increase in generation
- 10,78,745 kWh additional energy produced
- ₹36.57 lakh additional revenue generated
- ₹5 lakh reduction in O&M cost
- Improved machine availability
- Improved grid availability
- Better visibility into remote assets
- Stronger OEM and vendor accountability
The additional revenue was calculated at a tariff of ₹3.39 per kWh.
Why It Worked
The project worked because SunDesh shifted the assets from passive maintenance to active asset management.
Instead of treating the decline as an unavoidable result of ageing equipment and lower wind speeds, SunDesh focused on what could be improved: machine availability, grid availability, maintenance planning, monitoring, vendor accountability, and response time.
Why This Case Matters
Many renewable energy assets underperform not because they are unviable, but because they are not actively managed.
For industrial companies, solar, wind, and hybrid assets need ongoing monitoring and operational discipline to keep delivering value. This case shows that better asset management can recover lost generation and improve returns without adding new capacity.
Conclusion
SunDesh helped the client improve generation from an ageing wind fleet through preventive maintenance, real-time monitoring, OEM coordination, grid engagement, and O&M contract optimisation.
The project delivered a 20% increase in generation, 10,78,745 kWh of additional energy, ₹36.57 lakh in additional revenue, and ₹5 lakh in O&M cost savings.
For industrial businesses, this case demonstrates how disciplined asset management can unlock more value from existing renewable energy assets.
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