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The availability of a wind turbine varies greatly depending on the design of the turbine and how the turbine is operated. Everything else being equal, wind turbines that run less frequently have higher availability factors because they require less maintenance and because more inspections and maintenance can be scheduled during idle time.
Originally the term availability factor was used only for power plants that depended on an active, controlled supply of fuel, typically fossil or later also nuclear. The emergence of renewable energy such as hydro, wind and solar power, which operate without an active, controlled supply of fuel and which come to a standstill when their natural supply of energy ceases, requires a more careful distinction between the availability factor and the capacity factor.
A wind turbine cannot operate in wind speeds above a certain limit, which counts against its availability factor. With this definition, modern wind turbines which require very little maintenance, have very high availability factors, up to about 98%.
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Sjoerd Overpelt
Project Developer