What to do with all the waste during processing and at the end of life? This is a question we often ask ourselves in the industry. Loser Chemie is developing high quality recycling technologies especially for the photovoltaic industry. Dr. Wolfram Palitzsch tells us more…. The Loser Chemie GmbH (LC) was a chemical industry whose… Read more »
PV continues to grow and this entails investment in new systems. But which is the right technology from the medium-term perspective? Which technology offers the greatest potential? Or would it be better to adopt a technology whose potential is already largely exhausted? This article endeavours to shed some light on the subject and clarify the… Read more »
The Multi-Contact MC4 connector is now approved for 1500 volts, an increase from 1000 volts. Existing systems using MC4 connectors can also be upgraded. The end result will be overall cost reduction, which is always welcome news in today’s market. The original MC4 connector from Multi-Contact AG, the most popular connector in the world, recently… Read more »
What to do with all the waste during processing and at the end of life? This is a question we often ask ourselves in the industry. Loser Chemie is developing high quality recycling technologies especially for the photovoltaic industry. Dr. Wolfram Palitzsch tells us more…. The Loser Chemie GmbH (LC) was a chemical industry whose… Read more »
PV continues to grow and this entails investment in new systems. But which is the right technology from the medium-term perspective? Which technology offers the greatest potential? Or would it be better to adopt a technology whose potential is already largely exhausted? This article endeavours to shed some light on the subject and clarify the… Read more »
The Multi-Contact MC4 connector is now approved for 1500 volts, an increase from 1000 volts. Existing systems using MC4 connectors can also be upgraded. The end result will be overall cost reduction, which is always welcome news in today’s market. The original MC4 connector from Multi-Contact AG, the most popular connector in the world, recently… Read more »
A look at battery storage in the UK: is behind the meter storage the more attractive option? Read on to find out more… Electricity storage is far from being a new idea. Small-scale batteries have been household items for decades and increasingly powerful, yet relatively diminutive units are now a common part of our everyday,… Read more »
HBM are leading the way with holistic structural health monitoring systems. Collecting more pertinent data leads to cost optimisation and complex life time predictions. Gilbert Schwartmann gives PES a more in depth insight… With growing economic pressure on manufacturers and operators of wind power plants, structural health monitoring systems, etc. for measuring loads on blades,… Read more »
Nicolas Fournier, at the Met Office, explains to PES the crucial role that weather forecasting and analysis plays in site selection, planning, operations and safety within the offshore renewable-energy market. Over the last five years the Met Office has placed a particular focus on supporting the offshore wind industry, as a key contributor to the… Read more »
Baker Consultants, an ecological consultancy working on various offshore projects including wind developments in the North Sea and the Baltic, has gained a deserved reputation for innovation. PES asked them to expand on the latest in remote sensing technology and how they have developed this into a new ecological surveying service that could aid the… Read more »
Fredrik Larsson, CMO, Breeze explains to PES… Major failures in wind turbines are often expensive to repair and cause loss of revenue due to long down times. With a downward spiral in electricity prices wind turbine owners and operators have started to focus more on methods to predict failures in order to reduce long downtimes… Read more »
Maasvlakte 2, the extension to the port of Rotterdam, will offer a strategic hub for offshore wind in the North Sea and beyond. Slated for starting operations in 2016, the Offshore Terminal Rotterdam promises increased capacity and market-leading facilities. PES takes a look. Up to now, the port of Rotterdam, the largest seaport in Europe,… Read more »
We take a closer look at an award-winning innovation that could revolutionise the design of floating turbines. This year, the UK’s longest running and most prestigious prize for engineering innovation was awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering to Artemis Intelligent Power. Known for spotting the ‘next big thing’ in the technology sector, the MacRobert… Read more »
Bigger, taller, faster – all clear trends, when looking at the evolution of wind turbine technology over the past ten years. Reducing the cost of energy is the constant target, and engineers are pushing the boundaries of blade length and tip speeds to increase annual energy production (AEP). PES presents an exclusive despatch, courtesy of… Read more »
At Clemson University, an old shipyard has been turned into the world’s largest wind energy testing centre. Renk Test System (RTS), a German company, has provided a facility containing the world’s most powerful wind-turbine tests rigs, which permit simulation of any type of wind force. As wind energy rapidly develops worldwide, the US government plans… Read more »
There is no doubting the desire to move towards a more sustainable energy future, but financial and political uncertainties are clouding the renewables vision. Predicting what lies ahead can enable the industry’s innovators to push this vision forward. Europe’s KIC InnoEnergy is bringing the tools to market to do just that. For 1,200 years, the… Read more »
In many remote areas or regions where the electricity supply is unstable or extremely expensive, grids powered by diesel generators are extremely common. With the PV Genset, Fronius is now offering a solution for applications that use diesel as the energy source. The key to the success of the solution is the Fronius PV system… Read more »
A large number of geographically spread complex renewable projects, with demanding levels of performance, are a challenge to manage. Without a unique, flexible, high-performance and hardware agnostic energy management platform, it becomes almost impossible and is not likely to get any easier in the near future. In many parts of the world, governments will not… Read more »
As one might imagine, the connection of inverters to a public grid system is subject to numerous compliance procedures and regulations. But how and why are these systems tested? Here, Peter Mock of Spitzenberger & Spies gives us the reasons and processes behind this crucial aspect of solar grid implementation. The “OK” for the connection… Read more »
Jessica Laporte explores the impact of scaling back incentives in a country that has led from the front in recent years. Since 2010, Conservative discourse on renewable energy has firmly criticised the green add-on to utility bills as an unnecessary burden to the taxpayer. Tory ministers have highlighted the unanticipated success of the Feed-In Tariff… Read more »
The PV industry is perhaps more safety conscious than ever before, with an increasing focus on standards, quality of work and H&S. But what of the risks presented by fire? We take a look at the advances being made by Weiss Umwelttechnik GmbH. In the course of the energy transition, a fifth of the total… Read more »
Dr Rob Grant FRSC founded GR2L with the objective of commercialising chemical looping combustion technology into the gas purification market. Here, he gives us an insight into the untapped potential of argon recycling. In the production of silicon wafers to be fabricated into solar cells and micro-electronic devices high purity argon (better than 99.999%) is… Read more »
An increasingly vital tool in today’s disaster zones, solar PV can bring safe, clean, portable power to those in greatest need. We take a look at the technology’s applications in this critical arena. Very few modern day phenomena have the ability to bring a nation to a standstill in the way that a natural disaster… Read more »
Technology’s integration allows companies to streamline processes, says Simon Hobday, Energy Partner, Osborne Clarke. But, it’s also changing the model of how consumers use energy, and how companies provide it. Since the turn of this century, increasing concern about climate change has driven a dramatic growth in renewable generation across Europe. Power plants have become… Read more »
As a market leader for the design of jack-ups, GustoMSC is well acquainted with the challenges that the wind industry faces. In this revealing piece, we take a closer look at these challenges and consider its revolutionary new offering, the NG-5500X series. When one asks an experienced offshore professional to list some of the key… Read more »
DNV GL has recently published a strategy for making up to 40% savings in offshore wind costs. We took a closer look at this interesting example of thought leadership to see if it can deliver on its lofty targets. Industry action on reducing offshore wind costs is widely regarded as essential to secure the future… Read more »
The crisis of the photovoltaic industry is drawing to a close. While it is true demand for solar modules is dropping slightly in Europe, demand in many other regions is rising rapidly – even the producers of thin-layer modules which had been almost “written off” are investing in new factories again. Obviously, this is good… Read more »
While utility-scale wind projects in the US (especially onshore) are continuing apace, many corporations are cashing-in on renewables by investing in wind energy to power their operations. IKEA, Microsoft and Facebook are just a few of the leading lights. PES takes a look. Those who bemoan the relatively slow adoption of renewable energy in the… Read more »
Solayer reduces deposition costs in TF PV production with its redesigned magnetron SOL.MAG and improved film quality with extended homogeneous coating width. PES investigates… The tough economic situation within the thin-film PV industry, but in general within the photovoltaic panel production sector, is constantly pushing manufacturers to reduce costs while trying to improve the quality… Read more »
We all appreciate that wind is expected to make a substantial contribution to a more secure and sustainable energy system. However, electricity generation from the technology is constrained by the varying availability of the resource. One possible solution is Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) – the ultimate cost-effective combination of wind and solar power. PES looks… Read more »
Some anti-wind campaigners claim that wind turbine performance more than halves after 15 years, whereas manufacturers assert that units can last almost twice as long (or more). So what’s the real story? PES went in search of some answers… The Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) has made the surprising assertion that the performance of wind farms… Read more »
With the challenges posed by developing wind farms offshore, the importance of having the right people for the right job has never been clearer. Steven Gray explains why choosing a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) provider should not be clouded by one-dimensional thinking. Unlike the hidden depths of oil and gas operations hundreds of miles out… Read more »
As one of the industry’s prime operators, Schmid Silicon Technology (SST) GmbH enjoys an enviable reputation and business that is built upon exceeding expectations and unrivalled knowledge. We put the questions to Dr. Burkhard Wehefritz, Director of the company’s Sales Development Department. PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Can you explain a little about your company… Read more »
To date in the wind industry, steel and fiberglass structures have been the most commonly used materials. However, extruded aluminum structures offer a huge potential in offering strong but lightweight corrosion-resistant structures, capable of solving some of the wind turbines industries design challenges. As with any material we will first discuss the advantages of the… Read more »
For the wind industry, aluminium profiles have not been a preferred material so far – steel and Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastics (GRP) are most commonly used. For many design departments, aluminium profiles are either too unknown to incorporate in daily design work, thought to be too weak, too expensive, or too corrosion-sensitive in an untreated… Read more »
Onshore and offshore wind farms may represent the vast majority of wind produced energy, but a number of initiatives around the world are examining the potential of high-altitude solutions to global energy concerns. PES takes a look at the innovative ideas… The problem of sustainable energy generation is one of the most urgent challenges that… Read more »