Spica Retrofit Controller with Spica Control System

Spica Retrofit Controller with Spica Control System: An affordable wind turbine controller for lifetime extension of ageing wind turbines | SysStabV approved

Spica Technology offers a competitive alternative to time-consuming control system repairs and price-sensitive secondhand turbine controller purchases on the market. With more than 20 years of experience in the wind power industry, Spica Technology has developed a unique line of retrofit control systems for a variety of wind turbine models currently in operation.

Our wind turbine controller for lifetime extension (also known as retrofit) is an affordable plug-and-play retrofit turbine controller that allows you to professionally manage your wind asset and trouble-solve as you would with new modern turbines.

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The advantages with a wind turbine controller for retrofit from Spica Technology

Start investment optimisation and project revenue of your ageing wind turbine assets.

With the Spica Retrofit Controller, you will:

– Decrease downtime and service costs
– Increase availability and output
– Access valuable data and predict maintenance

Furthermore, you get:

– Easy and qualified troubleshooting
– Guaranteed access to spare parts
– A competitive plug-and-play solution
– Customised features if desired

Increase safety with access to valuable data and decrease risk of costly breakdowns

The retrofit turbine controller from Spica Technology – the Spica Retrofit Controller with Spica Control System (SCS) – is based on advanced technology and up-to-date software, comparable to control systems that you find in modern wind turbines. With the Spica Retrofit Controller, and the easy access to spare parts that follows, allows service providers and turbine owners to move focus from the decreasing pile of secondhand turbine controls to investment optimisation and project revenue of ageing assets.

Spica Technology replaces the obsolete control system in your turbine with an up-to-date control system that offers the latest standards in communication and parameter settings which provides you with full, remote access to previously unavailable, valuable data.

The full access to the extensive data collection makes it possible to monitor your wind turbine closely through Spica Smart Park and carry out predictive maintenance that helps prevent costly breakdowns hence avoid lost production and increase your turbine’s wind power performance – just as you would with a new modern turbine.

In other words, we believe that retrofitting your turbine control system with our wind turbine controller for retrofit – Spica Retrofit Controller with Spica Control System – makes a valuable difference.

Suitable for most ageing stall-regulated wind turbine models

The input/output box of the Spica Retrofit Controller currently exists in two hardware designs depended on your turbine’s current controller hardware and wiring: SCS I and SCS II – both genuine plug-and-play I/O-box solutions that fit perfectly into the electrical panel in most ageing stall-regulated wind turbine models.

Spica Retrofit Controller – SCS I A wind turbine controller with a horizontal hardware design for retrofit of your ageing turbine control system.	Spica Retrofit Controller – SCS II A wind turbine controller with a vertical hardware design for retrofit of your ageing turbine control system.


The SCS I has a horizontal design with the in- and outputs in the bottom of the I/O box. It is 1:1 compatible with a WP2000 control system and upgrades the turbine with several functions in a replacement. With SCS I, you get: – 12 temperature measurement input (compared to only 6-8 in WP2000) – 4 high speed digital input – 4 analogue input – 4 analogue output – 32 relay output – 64 digital input	The SCSC II has a vertical design with the in- and outputs on each side of the I/O box. It is 1:1 compatible with a WP3000 control system and upgrades the turbine with several functions in a replacement. With SCS II, you get: – 12 temperature measurement input (compared to only 11 in WP3000) – 4 high speed digital input – 4 analogue input – 4 analogue output – 24 relay output – 43 digital input

The retrofit turbine controllers SCS I and SCS II are not only limited to control systems from Mita such as Windpower WP2000 or WP3000. Depended on your current control system and wiring, the Spica Retrofit Controller can also replace most obsolete control systems in ageing wind turbines e.g. obsolete systems from Phoenix and obsolete systems in Wind World turbines, among others.

In some cases, we rebuild or change the control panel/cabinet in the turbine like we did in the following video for the Danish energy company SA Energi. In this case, we retrofitted an obsolete Phoenix control system with our Spica Retrofit Controller in the nacelle of a Nordex N50 turbine where the retrofit turbine controller SCS I was delivered in a new nacelle panel:

Our current available wind turbine controllers for retrofit are SysStabV approved and certified by the Danish Authorities for installation and operation in turbines. They are compatible with most monitoring systems and fully compliant with the harsh environment in a turbine with the vibrations, salty mists and extreme temperature ranges from -30^oC to +60^oC degrees.

The Spica Retrofit Controller is a competitive retrofit of the control system for a variety of turbine models. The following list is not fully comprehensive, but it can give you an indication of which stall-regulated turbines our retrofit turbine controller solution is suitable for:

Nordex stall turbines e.g.:

– Nordex N27 150kW
– Nordex N29 250kW
– Nordex N43 600kW
– Nordex N50 800kW
– Nordex N54 1.0MW
– Nordex N60 1.3MW
– Nordex N62 1.3MW

Micon and NEG Micon stall turbines e.g.:

– Micon M530 225kW
– Micon M700 400kW
– Micon M1500 600kW
– Micon M1800 750kW

Wind World stall turbines e.g.:

– Wind World W4200 600kW
– Wind World W5200 750kW

Nordtank turbines

Etc…

A control panel with dual display for easy troubleshooting and operational status

The Spica Retrofit Controller is delivered with a Spica HMI Dual Display that displays the operational status of the turbine. The dual display is a control panel that has the same structure as a TAC controller which makes it easy to operate.

With two displays available enables you to access and navigate two independent menus at the same time e.g. to change parameters on one display and follow how your turbine reacts on the second display.

Spica HMI Dual Display is designed for harsh climate conditions, long lifetime and high durability. It can be operated easily with gloves over wide temperature ranges and is not sensitive to neither dust nor oil which makes it perfect and user-friendly for the service technician.

The dual display can either be fixed mounted in the turbine tower or nacelle, or it can be used as a portable display to be easily switched to the control system in tower or nacelle.

Furthermore, with online access you can log on to the control panel in the turbine through our cloud-based remote HMI solution – which enables you to read all relevant data and change parameters remotely from your everyday workstation anywhere in the world.

The several features give an improved overview, ease troubleshooting and reduce time needed during service to make turbine maintenance more effective.

The installation process: Quickly up and running, guaranteed.

At Spica Technology, we know and respect the costs connected to downtime. Therefore, we have developed a wind turbine controller for retrofit aimed at reducing downtime from the moment that your order is placed.

Besides having developed a retrofit turbine controller that physically fits into the existing turbine controller panel and wiring in most stall-regulated turbines, we provide you with an unprecedented three-year exchange guarantee in case of a controller breakdown or serious malfunction. Also, our wind turbine controller for retrofit allows you to add additional sensors, monitoring systems etc.

Once onsite, the Spica Retrofit Controller with Spica Control System is installed easily and quickly. We take on the complete task of installing our retrofit turbine controller or make use of a skilled, local service partner who is familiar with the system.

The installation process is typically conducted in 1 to 4 days depending on your turbine model and the necessity of rebuilding the existing electrical panel.

Once our wind turbine controller for retrofit is in operation, we have a support hotline ready to give you qualified guidance and technical support, if ever needed.

In some countries, the turbine needs a rebuild certification after installing a new wind turbine controller. Before we install our retrofit turbine controller, we collect data and parameters from the current control system in the turbine in order to ensure the best and most safe installation of the Spica Retrofit Controller.

When we retrofit the turbine with our wind turbine controller for retrofit, a checklist is followed, and an installation report is issued on each turbine retrofitted. This is to ensure that all safety functions are checked, no turbine functions are changed, and that the turbine does not suffer mechanical damage.

The approval is carried out by an independent institution or the government, depended on your country’s regulations.

Spica Technology is accustomed to handle orders from service providers, professional and individual turbine owners on markets across the world. We deliver the same swift service and close dialogue regardless of your company size and number of turbines.

A reliable and safe wind turbine controller for retrofit based on high quality components

The Spica Retrofit Controller is designed with PLC/CPU from Bachmann electronic GmbH.

Bachmann is one of the world’s leading suppliers of control and automation components for wind turbines and has extensive years of experience in developing hardware for the wind turbine industry.

Bachmann offers the most robust and qualified control components for wind turbines.

With a retrofit turbine controller build on standard components, Bachmann PLC and the latest algorithms in software, the Spica Retrofit Controller secures a stable and safe performance of the turbine and hence extending the turbine lifetime.

”The retrofit turbine controller from Spica Technology is very easy to operate and has so many input/outputs that you can monitor and collect data on all moving and non-moving parts. This gives me a reliable wind turbine that is running perfectly.

In addition, it has been running without downtime. This has resulted in a wind turbine with high availability.”

Statement by H.P. Porskjær, wind turbine owner in Denmark.

Since 2013, H.P. Porskjær has successfully operated his Micon M1500 turbine with the Spica Retrofit Controller with Spica Control System.