Best Free Wind Farm Software of 2025

OpenFAST is a publicly accessible wind turbine simulation software created by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It enhances the earlier FAST v8 code, merging elements of aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, control mechanisms, and structural dynamics to facilitate detailed, coupled nonlinear aero-hydro-servo-elastic time-domain simulations of wind turbines. The tool accommodates various setups, such as onshore, fixed-bottom offshore, and floating offshore turbines. Designed to cultivate an open source developer community among research institutions, industry players, and academic circles, OpenFAST offers a comprehensive software engineering framework that includes well-structured source code, automated testing processes, and compatibility across multiple platforms. Significant updates from FAST v8.16 to OpenFAST feature the creation of a new GitHub repository that centralizes modules, glue codes, and compiling utilities; a revised versioning system; and the implementation of unit testing at the subroutine level. This evolution not only improves functionality but also enhances collaboration opportunities among users and developers involved in wind energy research.

FairCom EDGE makes it easy to integrate sensor and machine data at their source - be that a factory, water treatment facility, oil platform, wind farm, or other industrial site. FairCom EDGE is the first converged IoT/Industrial IoT hub in the world. It unifies messaging and persistence with an all-in one solution. It also offers browser-based administration, configuration, and monitoring. FairCom EDGE supports MQTT, OPC UA and SQL for machine-tomachine (M2M), communication, and HTTP/REST for monitoring and real-time reporting. It constantly retrieves data from sensors and devices with OPC UA support and receives messages from machines with MQTT support. The data is automatically parsed and persisted, and made available via MQTT or SQL.