Patent ID: 8577509

Claim:
A method for controlling the operation of a wind turbine, the method comprising: determining, with a failure mode analyzer of a Condition Based Operation (CBO) unit, at least one failure mode relating to at least one component of the wind turbine; estimating, with a lifetime calculator of the CBO unit, a remaining lifetime of the component under current operating conditions; determining, with a control unit of the CBO unit and based at least in part on the estimated remaining lifetime of the component under current operating conditions, a plurality of control schemes to control the operation of the wind turbine in order to adjust the remaining lifetime of the component to a desired remaining lifetime that allows the component to function until a selected future date; determining, with a cost evaluator of the CBO unit, a power production yield for each of the determined control schemes; and selecting one of the determined control schemes for controlling the operation of the wind turbine that maximizes the power production yield.