Author: Francesco

Herman Sr. Selects Sea Machines’ SM200 Wireless Remote Helm System to Enhance Offshore Tug Operations

Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a leading developer of autonomous command and remote-helm control systems, announces today that Herman Sr. BV, a Netherlands-based tug and workboat company, will add a Sea Machines’ SM200 wireless, remote-helm control system to one of its Shoalbuster tugboats, the 23.35-meter Teddy, for the purposes of increasing productivity and operational safety during… Read more »

NKT is preferred turnkey supplier for high-voltage offshore wind farm project

NKT is preferred turnkey supplier for high-voltage offshore wind farm project NKT has entered into a Preferred Supplier Agreement (PSA) as main contractor for delivery and installation of high-voltage DC on- and offshore export cable systems to an European offshore wind farm. The wind farm is included in the high-voltage project pipeline listed in the… Read more »

RWE to divest a 49% stake in the UK Humber Gateway offshore wind farm to Greencoat

Agreed cash consideration of GBP 648 million RWE will remain operator of the 219 megawatts offshore wind farm RWE, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies, has signed an agreement with Greencoat to sell a 49 % stake in the UK offshore wind farm Humber Gateway for a total cash consideration payable at completion being… Read more »

ArcVera Renewables investigates causes of a significant drop in Indian wind resource and wind farm production

ArcVera Renewables, a leading international provider of consulting and technical services for wind, solar and energy storage projects, was enlisted by a major Indian Independent Power Producer (IPP) to analyze wind resource variation cause and effect after an unexpected drop in wind farm energy production in the country. Although variable year-to-year, wind power production in… Read more »

World-first study aims to deliver safer, cleaner and cheaper hydrogen power

A ground-breaking project to develop a new way of storing hydrogen in buses has been launched by academics from London South Bank University (LSBU), School of the Built Environment and Architecture . The LSBU project aims to deliver: Improved safety with hydrogen stored at lower pressures in smaller cylinders on buses instead of the large… Read more »

Guidehouse Insights Report Shows Utilities Are Projected to Spend Over $113B on Networking and Communications Equipment and Services between 2020 and 2030

Accelerating investment is expected throughout the next decade as utilities build their communications networks, report finds Nov. 23, 2020 – Boulder, Colo. – A new report from Guidehouse Insights examines the technologies utilities are using to build their communications networks, providing global market forecasts for investments in communications hardware and services, through 2030. The need… Read more »

Planning logjam ‘threatens net-zero’, renewable energy industry warns

Local authority staff numbers fall 20% since 2011 – as demand set to skyrocket New analysis shows ‘Scotland’s local authorities do not have the capacity to deal with new renewable generation’ which is required to meet commitments Scotland’s 32 local authorities are facing a planning logjam which will jeopardise the country’s climate targets, new research… Read more »

On the road to better backsheets

How innovation has driven the next performance/cost breakthrough How can the solar industry continue on its cost-down roadmap of lowering the LCOE of solar energy, without sacrificing quality and performance? It’s a challenge that applies to many aspects of solar technology, not least to backsheets. Over the past few years, DSM has developed a new… Read more »

‘I3PV – Integrated, Innovative, Intelligent’ – Annual ETIP PV Conference with up to 200 Participants per Session

How to restrengthen PV manufacturing in Europe PV to contribute significantly to achieving the climate goals ETIP PV’s forecast: Solar PV will supply 70% of the world’s electricity generation The European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) has successfully finished its first virtual annual conference. The Conference ‘I3PV – Integrated, Innovative, Intelligent’ has… Read more »

Empowering sustainable energy with decentralisation

The energy system is undergoing unprecedented transformation, fuelled by factors such as technological developments, geopolitical shifts and environmental concerns. According to the World Economic Forum, decentralisation is one of the key trends that will accelerate the transition to sustainable energy supply. Decentralisation is often referred to as ‘energy democracy’, as it aims to increase popular… Read more »

Industry Partners Collaborate to Donate Solar Project for the Flemington Area Food Pantry

Partnership Shines Light on the Power of Community During Dark Times FLEMINGTON, N.J., November 16, 2020 – The Flemington Area Food Pantry, serving Hunterdon County, N.J., celebrated and unveiled their brand new solar array installation with a ribbon cutting today at 10:00am at the Flemington Area Food Pantry, 151 Route 31 North, Flemington, New Jersey…. Read more »

Green electricity from Amrumbank wind farm to power trains of Deutsche Bahn

·         Deutsche Bahn and RWE Supply & Trading conclude 15-year power purchase agreement ·         Electricity to be supplied from Amrumbank West offshore wind farm, located off Heligoland, from 2024 onwards Essen/Frankfurt, 19 November 2020 Starting in 2024, Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) will be powered by electricity from RWE Renewable’s Amrumbank West offshore wind farm. The… Read more »

Framo Morat extends technology spectrum by adding Radial Gear Chamfering and deburring

What are the characteristics of the Radial Gear Chamfering process? Defined and reproducible chamfering at the front edges of the teeth increases the economic efficiency of production. At the same time, the quality of the components is improved In the field of metal-cutting gearing, increasingly complex and demanding component geometries require burr-free edges and precise… Read more »

Time is running out

Siemens publishes advice for businesses on steps to decarbonise Decarbonisation is a clear global target and there is a growing urgency for businesses to act. If they don’t, they risk exposing themselves to potential risks from policy-driven increased operating costs, increased energy costs or increased compliance costs. In addition, decarbonisation is not just an objective… Read more »

Continuous wave wind Lidars: all heights, all terrains, always available and for all turbine rotors

A wind Lidar is quite simply a remarkable piece of technology recently described by Avangrid as having ‘advanced the wind industry globally’. Generic Lidar benefits are summarised by Renewable Energy Systems (RES) as being ‘safer, cheaper, better, faster’ than traditional meteorological masts. An invisible, eye-safe beam of light interrogates the sky above at user defined… Read more »

Competitive gearboxes: electrification at high speed

With the launch of the SHIFT platform four years ago, ZF Wind Power changed the wind gearbox market in terms of flexibility, product lifetime and competition. Thanks to a design based on standardized building blocks, the platform offers high flexibility in gearbox development for next-generation turbine concepts. Currently, the platform has been extended with two… Read more »

Boost for online trade in wind energy

Online trade is the big winner of the Corona crisis. This also applies to the spare parts and repair market for wind turbines. A Hamburg company, a pioneer in this niche in 2013, is now gaining momentum despite, or because of Corona. Stefan Weber, Founder and Managing Director of Windsourcing.com GmbH, shares his thoughts with… Read more »

Ensuring wintertime profits with blade heating

The anti-icing blade heating technology is the enabler for windfarm power production in extreme icy conditions in Quebec, Canada. The efficient use of heat keeps the turbines operating up in the mountains, in the most demanding, freezing conditions, such as Lac Alfred wind farm. It consists of 150 wind turbines, with total capacity of 300MW… Read more »

Expanding horizons

PES was delighted to speak with Valentin Hartmann, a partner in Waterworks Offshore CONCEPTS. He was enthusiastic about their new venture, as they branch out into the ship finance market. A bold new chapter is beginning in this young dynamic company, encompassed in a slight change of name. They have already established links with investors,… Read more »

Robotics: the next era

TSR Wind is a lively, go-ahead company in our industry, Juan Rivas, Commercial Director, was excited to share some of their solutions with PES. There’s no doubt that robotics is making a big difference to the cost, efficiency, safety and downtimes of inspections for the asset owners, and to cap it all off the analysis… Read more »

Global growth for offshore wind must lead to zero emissions goal

The 2nd offshore wind boom is upon us and this time it is going global. During 2021 project installation will be underway in UK, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Norway, Spain, Portugal along with US, Vietnam, Taiwan and China. By 2025 many more countries will join this rush to install the cheapest form of largescale… Read more »

Integrated quality control in offshore wind: part 2

Following on from our interview with Wim Keen in the last edition, PES had some questions for Maik Rienecker, founder of Steel Inspect and father of the unique Q7 concept for optimal quality management of offshore windfarm EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation) projects. He was happy to explain the Q7 concept in more detail and… Read more »

How can we make the most out of wind energy with smarter grid and market integration?

As we move towards net zero carbon emissions targets, significant efforts to connect more clean energy resources to the grid are being made. Globally, the energy industry is welcoming innovations in renewable energy and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) assets. As a result, correctly managing and distributing the energy from these DER assets to enable the… Read more »

Digital automated independent solutions: a necessity for asset managers and an opportunity for O&Ms

Wind industry business models are shifting their focus. They used to be mainly driven by financial aspects of the business plan and the debt used to finance it, while technical operations, often subcontracted, came in second place. The priority of the wind industry was to ensure robust turbines with a high degree of availability, with… Read more »

Combatting corrosion with traditional and new methods

PES Wind caught up with Ed Hall, President of Oxifree, to discover the latest corrosion solutions. Our readers have always been interested in this sector, as it has a real impact on maintenance and life span of the wind turbines. Research and development are at the forefront. The core product encapsulates the part, rather than… Read more »

The real value of condition monitoring

Before considering the impact that condition monitoring systems (CMS) have on our industry, it is important to first establish what CMS entails and how it came to be such an established piece of hardware in the renewable energy sector. A condition monitoring system would normally comprise of a series of sensors strategically placed on fundamental… Read more »

How independent real-time ocean insights support offshore wind insurance

Miros is a technology company that specialises in measuring the ocean surface. With over 35 years of experience engineering dry-mounted, radar-based sensors robust enough to weather the harsh and unpredictable conditions of the North Sea, the company develops innovative solutions for real-time, local environmental monitoring for the global offshore and maritime industry. By making essential… Read more »

Riding a wave of green innovation

MHO-Co is on a mission towards a greener and more economically viable service to the offshore industry. And the future is already here. Right now, the Danish shipping company is building the world’s first hybrid CTVs which are to be introduced in 2021. And they hope to take the technology even further with support from… Read more »

CTV access to wind turbines: improving efficiency and reducing costs

Mainprize Offshore has operated in the North Sea for over thirty years, and the family behind the company has a fishing heritage that dates back generations. This team has extensive experience in the offshore oil and gas industries, and has been going from strength to strength since entering the offshore renewables sector in 2012. Mainprize… Read more »

A real unique selling point!

Liftket‘s CEO Jürgen Dlugi, tells PES about the company’s expansion in the wind industry. In 1953 they started off by supplying electric chain hoists and are now able to offer a complete service crane globally, suitable for on and offshore work. Well aware of safety needs, they provide full training and tailor made packages to… Read more »

Extended validation and certification of new generation power converters reduce the cost of energy

As market demand for wind turbines has grown, so too have the demands for quality and performance, in order to reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) and demonstrate that the technology is not just a clean solution for electric power generation, it is also a profitable addition to the energy mix. This is especially… Read more »

Making a difference in windfarm transformers

The electric energy industry has long been a conservative business taking very deliberate and measured steps in adopting new technologies. The renewable energy markets have forced companies to adapt to a fast-paced and rapid technology development cycle. The exponential growth and the demand for more power in a smaller envelope continue to drive rapid development…. Read more »

Sector coupling could aid energy transition

Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, there has been a global consensus that the transition to a CO2-neutral energy supply needs to be achieved worldwide within the next few decades. At the same time, considerable technological progress has been made with both onshore and offshore wind energy, for example, and, as a result, the energy generated… Read more »

Wind turbine energy generation: reliability problems and solutions

While wind is enjoying significant growth, studies confirm that wind turbines suffer from reliability issues: The EU’s RELIAWIND study found that electrical systems accounted for the highest failure rate, but gearbox failures accounted for the highest amount of downtime (14 days)1. The National Renewable Energy laboratory found that the majority of wind turbine gearbox failures… Read more »

Wind energy’s most important event goes digital

WindEnergy Hamburg, the world’s leading wind energy event, is taking place in 2020 despite the crisis. However, organizer Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH is not inviting visitors to its local exhibition campus this time but to the World Wide Web. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, WindEnergy Hamburg 2020 will be a fully digital event held… Read more »