Some 700 competitors from 40 countries boosted the financial performance of a virtual wind farm by a total of €850m ($998m) after taking part in Sentient Science’s online game The Wind Challenge.
Josep Fernandez Gausach won the game by extending his turbines' operations by five years and generating additional power worth almost €20m while the game was underway during the Global Wind Summit.
The Wind Challenge, supported by WindEurope, Tower Climbing Grease Monkeys and Recharge, was designed to draw industry attention to the importance of digitalisation and the positive financial impact of life extension.
Sentient Science powered the online game with its DigitalClone models of GE, Siemens Gamesa and Vestas wind turbines, operating on a virtual wind farm in Greenland.
A panel of wind sector experts also judged life extension innovations that were introduced to the game by competitors while it was underway. Holger Streetz won with a innovative measure to lubricate turbine bearings with ceramic grease.
The next leg of the game begins immediately, and winners will be identified at China Wind Power in October.
