Ethernet Networks for Wind Power Applications

{access view=!registered}Only logged in users can view the full text of the article.{/access}{access view=registered}The spectacular worldwide growth of renewable energy resources has created the need for specialised communications solutions for this market. Connection of distributed energy resources to the electrical grid, as well as their integration into data communication systems, is characterised by technical challenges not present in conventional electricity generating plants. Onshore and offshore wind farms are frequently built in remote sites that are exposed to extreme weather conditions and also lack an established telecommunications infrastructure; this makes it difficult to connect them to a communications network in a central location where data acquisition, monitoring and control systems are running.