New type of operations and maintenance service agreement marks milestone in offshore wind industryDBB Jack-Up Services A/S announced today a charter agreement with Siemens Energy. The agreement will see Siemens charter a new purpose-built jack-up vessel from DBB Jack-Up to service the rising number of large-scaled offshore wind power projects across Northern Europe. Thorsten Jalk,… Read more »
Last week CT Offshore received the good news and now proudly announces that yet another contact is awarded to the Danish cable installation company. The scope of work covers the cable installation and burial of 97 inter-array cables at DONG Energy’s Gode Wind OWF 1 + 2.“In the current market this is an important contract… Read more »
WindEnergy Hamburg – The global on- & offshore expo at the Hamburg Fair site from 23 to 26 September 2014 Hamburg, 15 May 2014/ WEHH4. Offshore wind farms present special challenges for plant builders, project designers and service providers. But they deliver power practically all the time, 24 hours a day, on an average of… Read more »
• Total order volume: more than EUR 1.5 billion• Winning combination of technological innovation and tailored financial solution secures largest order for Siemens Energy Service to date• 600 megawatt Gemini wind power plant will consist of 150 Siemens wind turbines• Financial Services unit closes on 20 percent equity investment, with the total shareholders’ investment almost… Read more »
The wind farm developer wpd, KfW IPEX-Bank and Helaba will jointly provide the funds for the construction of two onshore wind farms in Canada. wpd is delighted to make the announcement following its first “financial close” in Canada. The wind farms will be constructed in Springwood and Whittington in southern Ontario. Work has already started,… Read more »
Donation made following delivery of SWATH workboat Brightlingsea (UK), 15 May 2014 – CTruk recently cemented its support of the Motor Neurone Disease Association with a donation of £20,000 following the delivery of its second CWhisper SWATH workboat. The late naval architect Nigel Warren was heavily involved in the design of the first-in-class CWhisper SWATH,… Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
The results are in and they tell us what we knew all along: there is no evidence that wind turbines make humans sick. Surprised? Nor us. The only surprise is how much bad information there is out there about wind power and health… There is no reliable or consistent evidence that proximity to wind farms… 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Exhibitors, conference participants and visitors are planning to flock to WINDFORCE 2014, the renowned trade fair meet in Bremen. We take a look at what’s on offer… WINDFORCE 2014, the key event of the offshore wind industry, is taking place in Bremen from 17 to 19 June. At the same time that national and international… Read more »
China has embarked on the greatest push for renewable energy the world has ever seen, and a key element involves more than doubling the number of wind turbines in the next six years. PES takes a look at the rise and rise of the world’s next wind superpower. Already the world’s largest producer of wind… Read more »
Part of the DBB Group of companies, DBB Jack-Up is making waves in the industry with its long-found experience combined with innovative and effective range of new vessels. How do they see their role evolving as the industry matures? We talked to Ole Jacob Nielsen, Head of Sales & Marketing. PES: Welcome to the magazine…. Read more »
When we last published our Power List in 2000, the wind energy landscape looked very different indeed. Since then, billions have been made and lost and investors have come and gone. We’ve tweaked our list this year to take into account not only the reported wealth of the individuals involved, but their influence on our… Read more »
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 »
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 »
• 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 »
• 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, 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 »
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 »