Category: Wind

Hamburg-based shipbroker German Renewables Shipbrokers launches a new, interactive website.

The dynamic and interactive GRS website includes a 3D vessel portfolio, an interactive offshore map and the Quick Vessel Check for a quick overview of available tonnage. Hot off the presses, the site is already online at www.german-shipbrokers.de. Visitors to the shipbroker’s site can check up-to-date vessel availability using the Quick Vessel Check. The 3D… Read more »

Seebawind Service Monitors Worlds Northernmost Wind Park

Significant Increase in Yield thanks to Remote Monitoring in Real Time Osnabruck, 12 May 2014. The independent service provider seebaWIND Service GmbH has been monitoring 15 Nordex N80 wind turbines with a total nominal power of 37.5 megawatts since the beginning of May. Since they are around 50 kilometres south of the North Cape, these… Read more »

Germany: a market in upheaval

seebaWIND’s CEO, Holger Hämel, is an expert commentator on the cost-effective operation of wind power plants in Germany. In this latest dispatch, he offers PES readers an invaluable perspective on the market’s various trends and challenges. As the REL 2.0 goes into effect, the remuneration rates for wind power plants will be significantly reduced starting… Read more »

And now for something completely different…

The INVELOX promises to revolutionise wind power generation via a system that apparently produces 6 times the electrical power than traditional wind turbines. PES asks: will 2014 be the year when the wind industry begins saying farewell to blades? Daryoush Allaei thinks the wind power industry has it all wrong. Rather than turbines high in… Read more »

Any power, any speed

As president and CEO of The Switch, Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen heads-up one of the industry’s most pioneering companies. With a focus on drive train technology for renewable and industrial applications, the organisation is highly visible in the solar, marine and – of course – wind sectors. One of PES magazine’s original interviewees, he returns for an… Read more »

Setting a research agenda for the Wind Energy Technology Platform

When we first reported on the pioneering TPWind platform in PES, it was little more than an EC pipedream. Since then, it’s grown into one of the most important funding programmes in Europe, and enjoys considerable influence throughout the sector. We take a look at the latest developments, courtesy of Henning Kruse and his talented… Read more »

Reflecting an industry in motion

The WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition always reflects the times, and these are busy days for the industry indeed. It’s appropriate, therefore, that topics such as operations, technology, and non-traditional wind energy purchasers will all figure prominently at WINDPOWER 2014, which takes place May 5-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. An educational program that leaves no stone… Read more »

US wind: never stronger

The American wind energy industry responded to the extension of the Production Tax Credit in 2013 by starting construction on an historic and unprecedented number of new wind farms, backed by Power Purchase Agreements with electric utilities on a record scale by the close of the year. But it’s not just the utilities backing wind… Read more »

Can VRE take wind power to the next level?

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 »

Memorable gestures and major projects

As one of the oldest and largest logistics companies in the Netherlands, Royal Wagenborg has always been a pioneer. Over a century has passed since it was founded, and yet the company continues to be at the forefront of the industry. Max Tack gives us a ‘guided tour’ of the visionary organisation and its notable… Read more »

Wind and water: working together for the greater good

A precious resource, water is one of the EU’s most valuable commodities. And yet it is being used unremittingly throughout the continent, with up to 40% consumption in power production alone. The EWEA has examined the situation and offers a credible alternative – wind energy, which uses little to no water… Water is a precondition… Read more »

Turbines: how old is too old?

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 »

The big debate

Is the small wind industry dead? Are governments doing enough to support the wider sector? What remaining work needs to be done to develop an effective supply chain? These are just three of the questions that are tackled by our five specially-selected wind experts in our exclusive roundtable this issue… PES: Welcome to the magazine…. Read more »

Taking innovation to the next level

Seatower, a Norway-based designer of foundations for offshore wind turbines, is set to become the first to demonstrate gravity-based foundations. We find out more about what could be a game-changing development… The world’s first self-floating gravity based hybrid foundation will be installed in the English Channel in the fourth quarter of 2014. The Seatower Cranefree… Read more »

Identifying Opportunities In Africas Clean Energy Corridor

Africa’s impressive economic growth in recent years, reflecting a growing population as well as rapid economic development and diversification, calls for massive investments to ensure sufficient future energy infrastructure and supply. The newly-identified ‘Clean Energy Corridor’ has been earmarked as a possible source of this supply – with significant prospects for wind energy. We take… Read more »

New markets, new prospects

As a well-established company with an enviable reputation in the cargo transportation, BBC Chartering understands that you can’t progress by standing still. Organisations need to evolve, to shift with the shifting markets and work hard to identify new opportunities. We spoke to the company’s Jens Meilvang. PES: It’s great to see you back in the… Read more »

Enabling significant savings

Moventas’ CMaS Condition Management System has been developed to monitor how the gearbox and other drivetrain components are performing, 24/7. Even more importantly, it anticipates possible upcoming failures, and responds by delivering timely updates and alerting maintenance crews. David Moss compares two contrasting approaches. Condition monitoring or condition management?I have a friend, let’s call him… Read more »

Constraints of wind integration in developing countries for project finance

Olivier Texier takes a look at the main challenges behind wind power forecasting, how some grid operators and/or energy off-takers introduce power forecasting constraints for wind power plant, and what the implications might be for developers and financiers. With the increased penetration of intermittent renewable energy such as wind and solar into modern grids, there… Read more »

Ready for action?

Are America’s key communities really ready to embrace wind to the extent that the industry would like? Perhaps not, claims the Center for Rural Affairs, citing a number of possible obstacles. But – and this is a big but – there are ways forward, and ways to address the major community and landowner concerns. We… Read more »

Wind energy 2.0

The entire history of power generation, from Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiments 250 years ago, to deep sea drilling for oil and gas is a complex tale of imaginative inventiveness riding up against economic realities. As wind power takes hold across the world, developers are constantly looking for new ways to make the technology lighter, faster,… Read more »

Tough at the top?

Essential stress-management strategies for business survival In today’s business world, most wind sector executives expect to be available 24/7 and to work an 18 hour day on average, but Cognitive Neuroscientist and Business Improvement Strategist Dr Lynda Shaw believes that executives and top management are becoming increasingly isolated and are struggling to cope with the… Read more »

Siemens receives turbine and service order for largest wind farm in Ontario, Canada

• K2 Wind Ontario to feature 140 Siemens SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines• Clean power for 100,000 Canadian households Today, Siemens Energy announced a major wind turbine and service order in Canada at the AWEA WINDPOWER tradeshow in Las Vegas. Along with the South Kent Wind Farm in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, the 270-MW K2 Wind Ontario (K2 Wind)… Read more »

Siemens receives 97-megawatt wind power order in Peru

• Second Siemens wind project with Cobra Energia in Peru• Blades and geared nacelles to be produced in the USA• Six-year service and maintenance agreement included Cobra Energia has awarded Siemens Energy another order to expand its onshore wind power fleet in Peru by 97 megawatts (MWs). The Tres Hermanas wind power plant includes a… Read more »

CWind announces new Chairman of the Board

CWind, a leading provider of integrated services to the offshore wind industry, today announced that Chris Randle, formerly of Siemens Wind Power, has been appointed as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Andy White: Non-Executive Director of CWind & Chairman of CTruk Group (CTruk Group: The parent company of CWind) said: “I have great… Read more »

EnBW hands Baltic 2 temporary power supply contract to CWind

First German contract win for CWind is a turnkey solutionCWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore wind industry, today announced that it has won a contract from EnBW to provide temporary power supply for the 288MW EnBW Baltic 2 offshore wind farm under construction in the German Baltic Sea. CWind was successful in… Read more »

The Switch delivers variable frequency drive and high-speed motor solution to US-based Coffin Turbo Pump

Vantaa, Finland, April 29, 2014 – The Switch, a leading supplier of megawatt-class permanent magnet generator and full-power converter packages for wind power and other renewable energy applications, successfully commissioned its variable frequency drive (VFD) and high-speed motor solution for Coffin Turbo Pump in New Jersey, USA, enabling exceptional performance in a much smaller package…. Read more »

Senvion and ENERTRAG sign contracts for 27 turbines in France

Senvion SE, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Suzlon Group, the world’s fifth- largest* wind energy turbine manufacturer, concluded four contracts with ENERTRAG, one of the major renewable energy suppliers in Europe for supply and installation of 27 wind turbines with a total rated output of 54.45 megawatt (MW) for four wind farms in France…. Read more »

Siemens Completes Installation of Second HVDC Converter Platform for TenneT

• Major step forward for the offshore expansion of the German power grid• North Sea platform can transmit wind power to supply more than 800,000 German households using efficient direct current technology Siemens has installed the BorWin2 offshore platform in the North Sea northwest of the island of Borkum. This marks Siemens’ achievement of the… Read more »

Maersk Training Offers Free Places On Offshore Wind Training Course To Local Residents

Maersk Training extends commitment to local community Local unemployed people in Tyneside are being offered free places on a new training course designed to help them take advantage of job opportunities in the thriving offshore wind energy market. The course is open to people who are unemployed, a UK resident for the past 3 years,… Read more »

Siemens provides five direct drive wind turbines for project in Ostholstein

• Wind power plant Kniphagen selects modern direct drive turbines• Twenty-year maintenance agreement signed to help insure long-term reliability Siemens Energy will deliver five wind turbines for the onshore wind power plant Kniphagen in the north German region Ostholstein. The operator has chosen Siemens modern direct driven wind turbines for the wind power plant, located… Read more »

Windenergy Hamburg Wind Freshens Up On Land Innovative Solutions Boost Onshore Wind Potential

WindEnergy Hamburg – The global on- & offshore expoat the Hamburg Fair site from 23 to 26 September 2014 Hamburg, 25 April 2014/ WEHH3 Innovations in wind technology now give substantial improvements in the use of onshore wind energy. There will be plenty of examples of that for the international trade visitors at WindEnergy Hamburg,… Read more »