Category: Talking Point

Damen Shipyards Group has established a firm foothold in the European offshore wind sector over the last decade. Now the Dutch shipbuilding and maritime services company is turning its attention to the emerging market of the American offshore wind industry. Here Damen’s Director Business Development & Market Intelligence, David Stibbe and Area Manager North America,… Read more »

In recent years, manufacturers for wind turbine gearboxes have been challenged with high expectations from OEMs to continuously increase torque density and reduce costs. As rotor sizes have increased, rotational speed has decreased (in view of tip speed limitations related to noise) and design torque for the gearbox has increased proportionally. In view of transport,… Read more »

Wirescan has offered the innovative and non-destructive LIRA cable testing technology to the market for some years now. We have been watching the industry and looking at innovation, new technologies and how the cable testing industry can make the transition to the digital age. We came up with Wirescan Digital, a cloud-based cable test database… Read more »

New methods and technologies are required in order to reach the potential of offshore wind as an economically viable and sustainable energy resource. The Port of Grenaa is internationally recognized as a wind hub, due to its special designed facilities and expertise attained by serving the industry for years. By providing innovative offshore wind stakeholders… Read more »

The offshore wind turbine installation market has matured significantly over the last decade. For the inexperienced observer, or even for some of the seasoned offshore professionals, the applied installation methods in Europe are all more, or less the same. However, only few of the existing installation vessels will be suitably equipped to meet the demands… Read more »

Damen Shipyards Group has established a firm foothold in the European offshore wind sector over the last decade. Now the Dutch shipbuilding and maritime services company is turning its attention to the emerging market of the American offshore wind industry. Here Damen’s Director Business Development & Market Intelligence, David Stibbe and Area Manager North America,… Read more »

The steel structures, which make up a wind farm, need protection. Importantly, those offshore need a specific type, because without the correct coating corrosion occurs. This weakens and shortens the lifespan of the parts. Jo van Montfort, from Bjond, explains to PES why the choice of coating should be made by an expert, based on… Read more »

The growth of wind energy is exceptional, both in terms of installations and physical size. In Europe alone, it’s predicted to overtake gas installations and become the largest form of power generation by 2020, supported firmly by a mammoth addition of 4.9GW in capacity during just the first half of 2019. Meanwhile, the size of… Read more »

When it comes to sourcing an accommodation solution, which meets the requirements of all stakeholders in a renewable energy operation, the most successful approach is to work with an experienced partner. With wind farms increasingly being planned further from shore, daily transfers of technicians and crew members via vessels are becoming a thing of the… Read more »

When it was first introduced to the maritime market, Damen’s Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710 – the successor to the FCS 2610 – hit the headlines for many reasons. Stepless and safe crew transfers, increased passenger capacity and an optimised hull are all pieces of the puzzle that illustrate the evolving design. All in all,… Read more »

Fronius has been writing commercial PV success stories for over 15 years. Tens of thousands of Fronius IG Plus, Eco & Symo systems are in use around the world and are favoured and valued by installers and end customers alike. Now this forward-looking company is launching its latest product for the commercial sector: the Fronius… Read more »

Germany has a wind problem. A big problem. In the first half of 2019 alone, only thirty-five new wind turbines were built nationwide. This staggering low number is eighty percent less than in 2018, and the lowest number of turbines built in twenty years! In fact, while most wind comes from the north of Germany,… Read more »

As an acoustical engineer by trade, one of my acoustic consultancy’s specialisations is to monitor, assess and advise on wind farm noise levels. And this is where the story begins. We were told by a partner that experienced technicians could detect faults just by listening to the changes in sound generated by wind turbine blades…. Read more »

In June this year, the UK government took a significant step forward in acknowledging the need to combat the global climate crisis by committing to a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Renewable energy generation will have a critical role in meeting this obligation and establishing a low-carbon economy, but the country’s political… Read more »

The wind industry has an obsession with availability, as the all-important performance metric. Calculating the percentage of a given period that a wind turbine is available for operation, is only part of the puzzle. A more important question is, is the asset doing what it is supposed to be doing and is the asset doing… Read more »

With the rapid growth in availability of drones and access to commercial drone certification, the wind farm industry is becoming overrun with inexperienced operators offering drone inspection services. At the other extreme, advances in technology means that autonomous drone services are now being offered as a safer, more efficient alternative to wind turbine inspections. Having… Read more »

A quick and easy AC solution, or a highly sophisticated connection using DC technology? The best transmission solution for offshore wind parks depends on both distance and output. But cost is key: for both technologies, Siemens is putting all its development efforts into downsizing and standardization, in order to minimize installation and operational costs. It… Read more »

If you are a service provider within the wind industry, you do definitely have a lot of equipment that needs to be inspected regularly. This could be PPE equipment, hand tools, measuring instruments, hydraulic tools, torque wrenches, lifting gear, rescue equipment and much more. In addition, there are all the training certificates that your employees… Read more »

What once seemed like a pipedream has become reality. Offshore wind projects worldwide have increased in number, and are now becoming more of the norm. What has not gone away is the citizen opposition to wind farms, which now has spread to offshore projects worldwide. Recent studies on global offshore wind show strong growth. If… Read more »

For those working in the wind sector, the risks of arc flash incidents have always been better understood than in many other industries. Working with extremely high voltages and large currents on a daily basis, means that knowledge across the sector is noticeably higher compared with similar industries that are also at risk of the… Read more »

The use of digital technologies such as cloud computing, big data management and predictive analytics are changing the status quo of the energy market. An increasing number of wind farm operators are starting to implement these techniques, so as to control their costs. But, if the implementation of predictive maintenance is one of your digital… Read more »

Andrew Wickham, Managing Director at Buoyant works, has been involved in impact protection design, engineering and manufacture for the past 25 years. Developing and creating brands such as Hippo Marine and Manuplas, both long standing manufacturers of fendering, booms, buoys and other impact absorbing structures, has pioneered a new design. WindShield is a long-term protection… Read more »