The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) recently filed comments with respect to a proposed Health Canada study, “Health Impacts and Exposure to Wind Turbine Noise: Research Design and Noise Exposure Assessment”, to be undertaken in collaboration with Statistics Canada. Here, PES looks in detail at the issues raised by the proposed study, and the association’s… Read more »
As the US Election campaign reaches its thrilling climax, it’s been fascinating to see just how high wind power is on the political agenda. We examine the power of wind as a vote-winner, and look ahead to what we can expect from the new Administration. Wind power is one of the fastest-growing sources of energy… Read more »
More press support for PTC extension The Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday became the most recent major newspaper to endorse an extension of the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), calling the revival of the shuttered U.S. Steel plant in Bucks County the “best case” for renewing the vital incentive. Added the editorial, “It’s at… Read more »
America has some of the best offshore wind resources in the world, particularly along the Atlantic coast where over 1,300 gigawatts (GW) of energy generation potential has been identified. Harnessing just a fraction of our offshore wind resource – 52 GW – could power about 14 million U.S. homes with local, pollution-free energy while creating… Read more »
Tapping America’s offshore wind energy resources will greatly benefit our economy. A vibrant offshore wind industry in the U.S. will produce hundreds of thousands of new, high quality careers while revitalizing manufacturing opportunities and spurring economic development along the Atlantic Coast. At the same time, plugging hundreds of gigawatts of clean, local power into the… Read more »
For many, 2012 will go be defined as a watershed year for the wind industry in North America – and yet we’ve still got a couple of months to go! With that in mind, we’ve brought together a roster of some of the finest minds in the industry, and pitched them a selection of challenging… Read more »
Over the last two decades, the U.S. wind industry has grown dramatically and is providing communities across America with tremendous benefits. More than 50,000 megawatts of wind power – the power equivalent of thirteen Hoover Dams – are installed in the United States. In a change to our usual regional focus on a single state,… Read more »
The state of Nebraska has huge potential as a major producer of clean energy. Wind power – a sustainable energy source – can be of great economic benefit to Nebraska communities, according to Jerry Hudgins, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr Hudgins spoke to PES and… Read more »
The use of wind power in the United States is the fastest growing energy trend on record. According to a second quarter 2012 report published by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the country added 1,200 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity during the April to June 2012 timeframe, bringing the nation’s total cumulative wind capacity… Read more »
Dramatically cutting carbon pollution – by replacing dirty energy with clean alternatives like offshore wind – is the best path forward if we are to protect coastal and marine wildlife from these dangers of a warming world. But even renewable energy must be designed with nature in mind. PES looks at recent reports that suggest… Read more »
It is to be expected that not every turbine will be required to work under the same conditions, and in the past, developers have gone with the accepted wisdom that each turbine should be the same across a site, which means an inevitable compromise on the efficiency of energy production – until now. PES speaks… Read more »
The U.S. wind power industry is facing uncertain times. With 2011 capacity additions having risen from 2010 levels and with a further sizable increase expected in 2012, there are – on the surface – grounds for optimism. A new report; published recently by the US Department of Energy, looks at complete data from 2011 to… Read more »
The Crown Estate today announced that the consortium, First Flight Wind, has been selected to develop an offshore wind farm off the south east coast of County Down, Northern Ireland. Subject to obtaining all necessary consents from the Department of Environment and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, the project could deliver up to… Read more »
ZF Services UK Ltd has signed up to the RenewableUK Wind Energy Charter, which sets out how the wind energy industry intends to deliver continued investment to the UK and its economy. The charter is formed around three core principles: investment in the UK’s energy security, the creation of tens of thousands of long-term jobs… Read more »
Prysmian Group, the world leader in the energy and telecom cables and systems industry, is participating in the creation of Norstec, an association uniting the main players in the energy industry at the global level with the aim of supporting the production of renewable energy using offshore wind farms in the Northern Seas. Norstec, supported… Read more »
HELUKABEL® will be showcasing their latest advancements in wind cable technology at the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA)’s 28th Annual Conference and Exhibition, being held October 14-17, 2012 in Toronto, ON. CanWEA is a premier wind energy event that will bring together over 2,500 experts and 250 exhibiting companies from all over the world to… Read more »
On October 6 2012, Siemens began field testing of its new 154-meter rotor for the six-megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbine in Østerild, Denmark. The direct-drive wind turbine is equipped with the world’s longest rotor blades – each blade measures 75 meters in length. With a record rotor diameter of 154 meters, each SWT-6.0-154 turbine can… Read more »
Sonnenbuehl-based SoWiTec Development GmbH & Co. KG (SoWiTec) has engaged DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability through a frame agreement to provide a range of project development support, technical services, third party expertise, and project management assistance related to 20-50 proposed wind power projects in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Russia. “DNV KEMA’s global… Read more »
Red Lion Controls, the global experts in communication, monitoring and control for industrial automation, today announced that the company’s industry-leading panel meters have received the 2012 Readers’ Choice Award from Control Design magazine. This achievement marks the 12th consecutive year that the prestigious accolade has been awarded to Red Lion. “Winning this award for the… Read more »
Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC) regrets the failure of the talks with Husumer Wirtschaftsgesellschaft mbH (HWG) which sought to achieve agreement on procedure for organisation of a wind energy fair. “Right up to the last minute we had been hoping for an agreement,” said Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress… Read more »
Wind Energy: TÜV Rheinland Receives New Accreditation IEC 61400 accreditation granted by DAkkS / Type and component certification of onshore and offshore wind turbines / Husum WindEnergy 2012, September 18 to 22, 2012, Messe Husum exhibition center: Hall 3, Booth 3E06 Cologne/Hamburg, September 14, 2012. TÜV Rheinland has been accredited by the German Accreditation… Read more »
Leading coatings manufacturer Hempel announced today the release of Hempadur Multi-Strength 35460, a new solvent-free version of its best-selling protective coating for offshore wind turbine foundations. As well as helping wind turbine manufacturers reduce solvent emissions, the new coating offers a six-hour drying time, one of the fastest in the industry and is gentler on… Read more »
Mita-Teknik will be presenting exciting new additions to their already extensive product portfolio at HUSUM WindEnergy 2012. Through several product seminars held at their booth, you will be granted new insights to the company’s latest advances in Making Wind Competitive. News On the News front, they present the new Retrofit Concept, which focusses on prolonging… Read more »
Dow Corning Corporation, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technology and innovation, has announced that its high-performance Molykote® brand Smart LubricationTM solutions and Dow Corning® brand silicone sealant solutions for the wind energy industry will be featured by Distributors Group Europe (DGE) during HUSUM WindEnergy 2012, which takes place September 18 through 22 at Messe… Read more »
Independent global renewable consultancy and software company, 3E, are teaming up with Baze Technology. BazeField Wind Farm Management system will now be incorporated into part of 3E’s SynaptiQ Wind software portfolio. SynaptiQ Wind is a multi-user, multi-technology software platform for wind portfolio management as well as reporting and business intelligence. It will now be powered… Read more »
The international marine contractor Van Oord continues to shine in our sector through its Offshore Wind Projects division, which focuses on Europe. We last spoke to the company’s Johan van Wijland (Director of Offshore Wind Projects) in 2011, and caught up with him again this summer – an exciting time for the company. PES: Welcome… Read more »
In a statement released today, Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen, President and CEO of The Switch, called for the adoption of an industry-wide networked model to overcome the rigidity of the vertical integration that still stifles the entire industry, making it difficult to adjust rapidly to the slowdown and to maintain a high level of innovation. “In the… Read more »
A relatively new addition to the wind sector, WINDSOURCING.COM uses cutting-edge technology to service sales and procurement processes. We asked Stefan Weber to talks us through the pioneering online service… PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Can you begin by explaining a little about your company and how you serve the wind industry?Stefan Weber: WINDSOURCING.COM is… Read more »
The number of wind farms connected to the electricity grid is steadily rising, and proof of grid compatibility is mandatory for grid connection. But what criteria do wind turbines and wind farms have to meet for certification in Germany, for example? PES investigates… Before wind farms can be connected to the German electricity grid, they… Read more »
Wind energy infrastructure, be it onshore or offshore, relies heavily on the use of steel for most of its key components, whether it be turbines, towers, foundations or transformer stations… the list goes on. As a result there is a significant amount of work required to transform ‘bare’ steel into something able to produce the… Read more »
A well-respected figure in the industry, Stuart Clough joins us to discuss offshore wind farms and APEM’s Remote Sensing team, which uses the most powerful medium format camera in the world. The importance of environmental surveys to offshore wind farm developmentLocation is important to the energy sector, but none more so than wind farms, where… Read more »
Using industrial Ethernet switches to assure maximum uptime A high-speed, industrial-grade network infrastructure offers wind farm operators many benefits, including improved operational management, visibility and access to key data. Real-time data access enables operators to monitor wind turbine uptime, performance and power output – even from remote locations. This data, which is used to track… Read more »
We return to the pioneering EU funded project, which ran from May 2010 to June this year. coordinated by the European Wind Energy Association, it provides an in-depth analysis of the national and international Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) practices; policy recommendations for developing existing and potentially new MSP for the development of offshore renewable power… Read more »
A 1.5bn wind farm that could have powered almost 400,000 homes has been rejected by the British government because it might kill 90 small birds a year. Clearly, our avian friends present us with a (costly) problem that is not going away… Over £10m, and three and a half years of planning, have been wasted… Read more »
In the early part of 2011, we wrote about a new global branding initiative for the industry that was set to “change how the world consumes energy, one product at a time”. It was a lofty claim, for sure, but has WindMade begun to deliver on its ambition? Or even started to make a difference?… Read more »
Our round-up of the season’s best wind power quotes returns – with a heavy dollop of politics. It seems as though we’re not all singing from the same European hymn sheet, and that there are some wildly diverging views about the way forward. Plus ça change… “Having seen a year in which the solar industry… Read more »