The wind business is in an enviable position throughout Europe. According to the most recent set of statistics released by the EWEA last year, more wind power capacity was installed in Europe during 2009, than any other renewable energy technology. About 39 per cent of installed renewable energy capacity was wind, followed by natural gas… Read more »
Pilot trials are due to begin in India in 2012 for an ambitious and innovative project which could harness the power of the winds at over 30,000ft. At that height they blow at over 200mph, so it’s a goal worth pursuing to add to the world’s growing renewable energy portfolio and help ease the pressure… Read more »
One of wind’s biggest challenges has always been obtaining ‘buy-in’ from the consumer. But this looks set to change with the launch of a major new initiative that will soon see a ‘WindMade’ logo emblazoned on dozens of household products. It worked for Fairtrade and organic food, but will it work for wind? At the… Read more »
Talk of wind turbines and we tend to think of huge structures out in the country, conjuring up visions of a romantic idyll with a few delicately spinning blades on the horizon. The truth of the matter, however, is that of late these contemporary icons are as likely to be seen on the outskirts of… Read more »
Words: David Parkin A crucial consideration for the entire renewables sector, with particular relevance to wind, storage is a burning, and imminent issue. David Parkin, Head of Renewable Energy for Atkins, presents the issues from a British standpoint and discusses how they mesh into the wider European framework. The UK is at the forefront of… Read more »
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced a brave new plan to build offshore wind turbines, producing a total of 3,000 MW and requiring a massive investment of €10bn Euros. A call for bids for the construction of the turbines was to be launched later this year, the president said, adding that 600 turbines were to… Read more »
Wind recognizes no borders. Increasingly, wind energy development and generation are oblivious to boundaries, as well. Whether we’re talking about companies moving beyond shorelines, national demarcations or continental coasts, the industry is expanding to the four corners of the globe. Branding, marketing and advertising for wind energy should have the same boundless potential as the… Read more »
It’s an incredibly busy and interesting time to be involved in the European wind industry, Bruce Douglas, COO, EWEA tells PES. Among other ways to get more involved are adopting a wind turbine as your own and attending one or more of the many trade fairs that are taking place throughout Europe … If you… Read more »
A week ago, Statoil AS, Norway’s largest energy company, revealed plans to build a demonstration site testing floating offshore wind turbines off the coast of Scotland. It’s a move that rubber-stamps the industry’s gradual shift to floating platforms, but is the technology up to the task. PES takes a look at the various engineering challenges…. Read more »
The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz fretted over his joints, and wind turbines have the same problem. They need to be assembled offshore and maintenance of the joints is critical where a 20+ year life expectancy under the buffeting of winter seas and gusting storms is normal. The assembly is subject to prying… Read more »
The US Department of Energy has traditionally concentrated its efforts and support on the oil industry, but in recent months it has shifted its stance towards renewables, and specifically towards wind energy, investing massive amounts in research and development and manufacturing. PES looks at the motivation behind this change and examines what economic factors and… Read more »
The battle lines are drawn for supremacy in the developing US offshore wind-generation business as various states vie to be the first to achieve that crucial milestone – going online. So what stage are we currently at in this all-important race? Jennifer Zajac of SNL Energy is your guide to the current movers and shakers… Read more »
Jennifer Layke, Deputy Director, Climate and Energy Program, World Resources Institute, and Rick Bunch, Managing Director, The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, discuss a number of options for overcoming the real and perceived challenges to wind power purchasing. {pagebreak} Wind power is increasingly sought as an environmentally friendly part… Read more »
A new buzzword is striking fear and excitement in the hearts and minds of renewable energy developers and transmission providers: ‘integration.’ The term can get stakeholders from all sides of the energy industry shouting across the table. It is also a sign of how far the renewable energy industry has come in making resources such… Read more »
pes presents half a dozen lessons, which if heeded in future offshore projects, together with the other parts of the offshore wind ecosystem, we can make for smoother, quicker, and cheaper installations and ultimately, better windfarms for the production of clean energy. {pagebreak} Over the years we have all heard much about the potential of… Read more »
The Times of London has just published its first green global rich list, with many tycoons and executives from the wind industry making the top 100, including the USA’s Warren Buffett who tops the poll at number one, being worth a cool Euro 37bn. Here, PES presents your handy guide to the top 10 movers… Read more »
During the past decade it has become extremely important to optimise all aspects of product design. Competition is tougher than ever and steel costs have skyrocketed. For economic reasons each component must be utilised to its maximum capacity. Bolted joints became the centre of attention after recent findings that they are often used to as… Read more »
Considerable wind resources place many countries across the region in an enviable position. Yet capitalising on those resources can prove problematic, due to local planning restrictions. This case study from the UK highlights the problems faced and offers a number of solutions that will resonate with wind energy suppliers throughout Europe. {pagebreak} The UK has… Read more »
Robots working alongside their human colleagues on a variety of production lines are now an everyday sight, and the photovoltaic industry is taking notice of the lower costs and shorter production times that the use of robots in industry brings. In this article, Rüdiger Winter, of German company Adept Technology, a global, leading provider of… Read more »
UPS solutions for wind turbines – high performance in all weathers The performance and profitability of a wind turbine stands and falls with its operational reliability. Any fault or outage can cost the operator dear while also potentially impacting on safety; costly servicing puts an extra strain on budgets. Therefore, it is all the more… Read more »
Bolt securing system slashes costs and increases safety During the past decade it has become extremely important to optimise all aspects of product design. Competition is tougher than ever and steel costs have skyrocketed. For economic reasons each component must be utilised to its maximum capacity. Bolted joints became the centre of attention after recent… Read more »
Combining a Permanent Magnet (PM) generator with a power converter in a wind power drive train is simple, but nobody integrates them into a totally optimised package the way The Switch does. The Finnish company is a forerunner in supplying tailored electric drive trains that meet each of its customerâ
Wind as a modern energy source: The Vestas View.Wind is an energy source which can help the world’s largest and fastest growing economies to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and on imported energy. {pagebreak} Over the past couple of years, Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, has experienced tremendous growth, and the company… Read more »
With the steadily increasing share of wind power in the world’s total energy consumption, windmill fabrication is maturing as an industrial sector. Marcel Stemvers, European Marketing Manager of ESAB Nederland B.V, discusses the challenges that producers of wind turbine towers face today and the solutions that are being developed to address them. {pagebreak} Having originated… Read more »
By ramping up production capacity while driving down unit cost through new mass-production technologies and strategies, solar power is poised to reach a much wider market.KUKA Systems’ goal is to pioneer automated manufacturing solutions, including robotized cells and integrated production lines that can be adapted to any type of solar-cell technology, so that a labour-intensive… Read more »
Detlev Koch, Head of Solar Thin Film, Oerlikon Solar.For the PV industry, this is a time of optimism, historic economic potential and technological progress – and unprecedented challenges. But governments and the private sector alike are betting on our industry to meet the challenges and supply an increasingly larger share of the world’s future electricity… Read more »
Unique system saves time and money for the wind power industry Swedish Actsafe is the company behind the world’s first power ascender, a personal elevator that climbs a standard rope. The company is now the market leader within this growing segment of rope access and is continuously developing solutions for making working at height safe,… Read more »
Dipl.-Ing. Kirsten Tschauder, Deutsche BP AG Unplanned wind turbine downtime can lead to high financial losses and wind energy market statistics indicate that the average turbine downtime due to unscheduled events is around 270 hours per year. Roughly one third of such losses can be minimised or avoided by considering the special ambient and application… Read more »
As the world entered a new millennium, Dr. Peter Volkmer discovered that condition monitoring of the rotor blades of wind turbines not only reduces risks but also pays for itself. At the time, systems monitoring the power train were already available and so the obvious question was why the most stressed parts of a wind… Read more »
Innovative technology for excellent resultsAt ENERCON GmbH in Emden, Germany, tailor-made, high-performance solutions optimise precast segment production, says Bastian Bicher, Corporate Product Engineer for Concrete at Sika Services AG’s renewable energy branch. As the threat of global warming has become a matter of urgency, so the race to lower greenhouse gas emissions has gained momentum…. Read more »
Smart meters are key to cutting domestic energy consumption. Dr Thomas Dittrich of Tadiran Batteries explains how his production line plays a vital role in the value chain, offering durability and cost efficiency through sophisticated technology. {pagebreak} Smart meters make it possible to cut energy consumption by as much as 10-15%, making a huge contribution… Read more »