IEC 61400-25-1:2017

Overview

IEC 61400-25-1:2017 - Wind energy generation systems: Communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants - Overall description of principles and models - provides the high‑level framework for communications in the IEC 61400‑25 series. It describes the principles, architecture and modelling approach used to achieve scalable, manufacturer‑independent communication between clients and servers in wind power plants. Edition 2.0 (2017) harmonizes text and overview models with other parts of the series and aligns definitions with related standards.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Client‑server communication model: Defines a communication environment where monitoring and control functions are handled through well‑specified client and server roles.
• Three separable modelling areas for scalability:
  • Wind power plant information model - hierarchical, name‑tagged descriptions of process, status and configuration data (including timestamps and quality).
  • Information exchange model (IEM) - service models and abstract interfaces (ACSI) that specify how data and commands are exchanged.
  • Mapping to communication profiles - rules to map the information and exchange models to concrete communication stacks and protocols.
• Information modelling concepts: Logical devices and logical nodes, common data classes (CDC), and structured attributes to ensure consistent semantics across vendors.
• Service modelling and functions: Operational and management functions are classified and described so implementations can support monitoring, control, configuration and diagnostics.
• Interoperability and maintainability: Name‑tagged data, harmonized definitions, and a transparent maintenance process (USE61400‑25/TISSUES) support long‑term interoperability and updates.

Practical applications and who uses this standard

IEC 61400-25-1:2017 is intended for:

• Vendors and manufacturers designing turbine controllers, IEDs and SCADA interfaces.
• System integrators and software developers implementing plant monitoring, historian and control systems.
• Plant owners, operators and utilities requiring standardized, vendor‑neutral data exchange for asset monitoring, performance analysis and grid integration.
• Planners and designers engineering communication architectures for onshore and offshore wind farms.

Typical applications:

• Real‑time monitoring and remote control of turbines and balance‑of‑plant equipment.
• Integration of diverse turbine brands into unified SCADA and asset‑management platforms.
• Standardized data exchange for condition monitoring, reporting and regulatory compliance.

Related standards and resources

• IEC 61400‑25 (all parts) - the complete series of communication standards for wind power plants; Part 25‑1 provides the overall principles.
• User group and maintenance: USE61400‑25 (community for implementers and working issues).
• Prepared by IEC Technical Committee 88 (Wind energy generation systems).

This part is essential for anyone implementing interoperable communications for wind power plant monitoring and control, delivering a common vocabulary, information structures and the service abstractions needed to map to practical communication protocols.