Contingency Autonomous Yaw Control for a Wind Turbine

A method for operating a yaw system of a wind turbine, the yaw system having an auxiliary power supply with a brake power control device, a braking unit, at least two energy storage devices, and a plurality of yaw drive mechanisms communicatively coupled to the auxiliary power supply via a communication link, each of the yaw drive mechanisms having a yaw power control device, the method comprising:

• monitoring, via at least one of a turbine controller or the yaw power control devices, the yaw system for failures;
• in response to detecting a failure, determining whether the failure is critical or non-critical based on a location of the failure;
• if the failure is critical, implementing, via the yaw power control devices, a first protective control strategy for the yaw system;
• and,
• if the failure is non-critical, implementing, via the turbine controller, a second protective control strategy for the yaw system.