In our debut episode of the Turbit Podcast, CEO Michael Tegtmeier invites Dr. Richard Kunert, Head of Data Science, to discuss the practical applications of artificial intelligence in wind energy operations. Dr. Kunert shares insights from his unusual journey from psychology and neuroscience to leading data science innovation at Turbit.
The Wind Industry's Evolving Landscape
Traditional monitoring approaches face mounting challenges as the wind energy sector grows:
Scale has increased dramatically – Wind farms have expanded from small operations to vast arrays of turbines
Assets are more valuable – Modern turbines represent substantial investments, making downtime increasingly costly
Expert shortage – Fewer experienced personnel are available per asset
Data overload – The volume of information has outpaced human capacity for manual monitoring
"Wind farms are like dairy farming. Farmers used to know each cow by name and behavior. Modern dairy farming is different - cows just have numbers because there are too many to track individually. The same is happening with wind turbines."
Turbit's Data-Driven Approach
1. Personalized Anomaly Detection
Creates tailored AI models for each individual turbine
Learns what "normal" operation means for specific components
Identifies subtle deviations that warrant investigation
Adapts to the unique characteristics of each site and installation
2. Intelligent Alarm Management
Addresses the critical problem of alert fatigue
Uses machine learning to prioritize genuinely important alarms
Reduces total alerts by up to 75% in some cases
Continuously improves through operator feedback
"What we have now is we can say how relevant an alarm would be even before it's sent out, allowing us to filter out those alarms which are most likely irrelevant to the user."
3. Root Cause Prediction
Moves beyond detection to diagnosis
Groups related alarms into unified "cases"
Analyzes machine states to identify specific malfunctions
Significantly reduces diagnostic time for operators
Creating Value, Not Replacing People
Turbit's AI approach complements human expertise by:
Focusing attention – Directing operators to what truly matters
Extending asset lifespans – Detecting potential failures before they progress
Minimizing downtime – Predicting issues before they cause failures
Enabling scalability – Allowing the same team to effectively manage more assets
"I don't think AI will replace people's work. It's just changing the way how you do stuff. It makes things more interesting."
The Future: Integration and Zero Risk
Looking ahead, Turbit envisions combining multiple data streams that currently exist in silos – from drone inspections to vibration monitoring – creating a comprehensive view of turbine health.
"People will be really surprised just how powerful it is once you bring different information together. What we'll eventually get to is zero risk, so that as a wind farm owner, you can reduce the risk to zero for your wind farm. And it just operates optimally."
Listen to the full episode to hear more about Turbit's vision for a future of zero-risk operations and 100% renewable energy:
Next episode: The Human Side of AI – How Customer Success is Powering Renewable Innovation
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