Union Pacific is one of America’s leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, is North America’s premier railroad franchise, covering 23 states across the western two-thirds of the United States. PES speaks to Ken Adams who heads up the company’s wind team … PES: Welcome back to PES magazine. First, can you… Read more »
Wind turbines are on the up. The giant constructions are constantly getting taller because, as every schoolboy knows, the higher you get off the ground, the greater the wind speeds. But building big towers is a costly business, especially if you want one 15,000ft tall. So why not ditch the tower and make the windmill… Read more »
SIMPACK AG offers general purpose three dimensional Multi-Body Simulation Software which is uniquely suited to the analysis and design of any type of wind turbine design. Built upon well-proven technology used in other application areas – such as the gear wheel element developed for the Formula 1 racing industry – the company delivers a pre-eminent… Read more »
The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz fretted over his joints, and owners of wind turbines have the same angst. They need to be assembled offshore and maintenance of the joints is critical where a 20+ year life expectancy under the buffeting of winter seas and gusting storms is normal. The assembly is subject… Read more »
Gulf Stream Marine commands attention for its innovations and flexibility. Now more than ever, both help the company maintain its position as a leader in the specialized field of wind turbine transportation. Company CEO, Jan Rietdijk, explains … PES: PES first caught up with Gulf Stream Marine last year. What is new with the company?… Read more »
Dow Wire & Cable, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, will be participating in the WINDPOWER 2010 Conference and Exhibition, May 23-26, 2010 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, TX. The company formulates, tests and validates medium voltage (MV), high voltage (HV) and extra-high voltage (EHV) materials ideal for underground (UG) and… Read more »
SGS is one of more than 100 exhibitors at RenewableUK’s (formerly known as British Wind Energy Association, BWEA) annual offshore wind energy event. The RenewableUK Offshore Wind 2010 conference and exhibition will take place on June 29-30, 2010 at the Arena & Convention Centre in Liverpool, United Kingdom. SGS Renewable Energy Services will be exhibiting… Read more »
Swiss firm Aravis Energy I LP realises first project sale on the Swiss market Zurich, 4 May 2010 – Aravis Energy I LP (Aravis Energy), a Swiss venture capital firm based in Zurich, has sold the Swiss wind energy company LuciaWind AG to the utility company EBM, which is based in Münchenstein in the canton… Read more »
April 20, 2010 Rockwell Automation’s EtherNet/IP-based Wind Park Management solution offers a speed of response so fast that not only does it remove the need for millions of euro’s worth of capacitor banks, but it also surpasses the requirements of proposed 2013 utility-end-user requirements 60 milliseconds may not sound like a lot, but it makes a huge… Read more »
Wind power reduces electricity prices and CO2 emissions, a study published today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) reveals. The review ‘Wind Energy and Electricity Prices’, a comprehensive assessment of studies of the impact of wind energy on electricity prices, was carried out by the independent consultancy Pöyry AS on behalf of EWEA. It… Read more »
Wind energy will meet 50% of the EU’s electricity demand in 2050, top wind energy personalities told Europe’s largest wind energy conference and exhibition. Topping the agenda at the opening day of the European Wind Energy Conference and Exhibition (EWEC 2010) in Warsaw was Europe’s long-term energy supply. “2050 might seem like a long way… Read more »
FloDesign Wind Turbine Co. has put the rest of the wind turbine manufacturing industry on notice. They will be a major player in wind power technology for years to come if all the numbers hold up. The Obama administration said the clean energy economy will be led by small businesses, FloDesign Wind Turbine is the… Read more »
Swedish wind farm Eolus had signed an agreement with Vestas (VWS.CO) for 70 wind turbines with a total wind power capacity of 140 megawatts. Eolus said the three-year agreement with Vestas, the world’s biggest maker of wind turbines, had an option to buy an additional 20 wind turbines. Eolus Vind AB is one of the… Read more »
Supporting today’s publication “RE-thinking 2050 – A 100% Renewable Energy Vision for the European Union”, by the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), said: “EWEA fully supports EREC’s vision of Europe moving towards 100% renewable energy by 2050. We have abundant wind, sun and other… Read more »
Wind Works Power Corp. is pleased to announce that from the first contracts offered through the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) Feed-in-Tariff program, we have been notified that we will be offered 7 power purchase agreements for a total of 80 megawatts (MW), for the following projects: Ganaraska: 20 MW Settlers Landing: 10 MW Snowy Ridge:… Read more »
NextEra Energy Resources, the competitive energy subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc., remained the nation’s largest owner of wind farms at the end of 2009, according to the Annual Wind Industry Report released today by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). NextEra Energy Resources ended 2009 with more than 7,500 megawatts of installed wind capacity in… Read more »
Global wind energy markets are expected to continue their rapid growth, with the world’s wind power capacity increasing by 160% over the coming five years, according to the annual industry forecast presented by the Global Wind Energy Council today. GWEC expects that the global installed wind capacity will reach 409 GW by 2014, up from… Read more »
A struggle for dominance in the fast-growing electric-vehicle charging business is pitting some of China’s biggest state-owned companies, as a domestic “new energy” movement — from battery-making to wind power — gathers steam. One battle is being played out in Shenzhen, where China National Offshore Oil Corp. (Cnooc) and Putian Group have teamed up to… Read more »
Siemens Energy announced Wednesday that it has been contracted to supply 43 wind turbines for a clean energy project near Thunder Bay, Ont. Siemens said the turbines will be delivered to Montreal-based Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc., which also purchased 43 turbines last fall for a project near Chatham, Ont. Financial terms of the deal… Read more »
General Electric Co. installed more wind turbine capacity than rivals in the U.S. last year, but faces new competition from Asian companies, according to a report from the Washington, D.C.-based American Wind Energy Association, scheduled for release Thursday. GE installed nearly 4 gigawatts, or 40% of new U.S. wind turbine capacity in 2009, up from… Read more »
Earlier this year American trend forecaster Gerald Celente, who has an interesting track record of accurate economic predictions, pointed to a bright future for Turkey. The country, he said, was in an excellent position to ride out the world’s current financial woes because ‘it has learnt from past experiences’. “Turkey owes this potential to a… Read more »
Although the wind energy industry is booming, the sector presents several technical, environmental, and financial challenges that investors and developers need to understand thoroughly in order for their businesses to be successful. DNV offers combined expertise in appraising and evaluating such risks and opportunities, as Dr. Claus Fridtjof Christensen, DNV Global Wind Energy, explains. PES:… Read more »
The Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz fretted over his joints, and wind turbines have the same problem. They need to be assembled offshore and maintenance of the joints is critical where a 20+ year life expectancy under the buffeting of winter seas and gusting storms is normal. The assembly is subject to prying… Read more »
Nicolas Fichaux, of the European Wind Energy Association and the European Wind Energy Technology Platform (TPWind), talks about the challenges facing the renewables energy and his own personal achievements. PES: Welcome to PES magazine, can you firstly explain a little about your role within the wind industry?Nicolas Fichaux: I am Head of the Policy Analysis… Read more »
Just over 60 years ago, on March 26, 1949, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft was founded in the large conference hall of the Bavarian Ministry of the Economy. At the time, the idea was to develop new structures for research after the war’s destruction, and to spur reconstruction of the economy. Today, the globally-respected institute analyses current macro… Read more »
The certification of wind turbines or components is state-of-the-art and a must in most places around the world. Furthermore, certification to harmonised requirements is an active support of export. Therefore it is important for manufacturers, banks and insurances of wind turbines and components to know the different certification processes as well as guidelines. This exclusive… Read more »
As long ago as 1995, a German study reported that more than 80% of insurance claims for damage to wind turbines were paid as result of lightning strikes. A little thought will reveal that this is not particularly surprising. Wind turbines are tall structures and their blades have a small radius of curvature at their… Read more »
IntroductionThe current economic crisis sparked by the credit crunch of 2008 has had a significant impact on renewable energy markets. As a result of the global economic downturn, the lending market has contracted, making securing financing for renewable energy projects dramatically more difficult than in the past. Equity investors have in turn become fewer. Despite… Read more »
For offshore wind turbines, taking every possible step to reduce the risk of mechanical breakdown is mission-critical. With a raft of unique application challenges and constant concern around efficient use of funding for wind farm management, engineering reliable, productive up-time into the wind energy sector will be no easy task. And for off-shore turbines, with… Read more »
Dr Eddie O’Connor, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power, recently gave a thought-provoking and wide-ranging speech to a meeting of the Institute of International and European Affairs. Here for PES, he reiterates some of the major concerns and prophecies of that speech. To begin with here, I take it as a given that we humans have… Read more »
Bob Dylan told us the answer to the world’s political problems was blowing in the wind, Donovan memorably failed to catch the wind and now a professor of Dynamics at England’s Nottingham University wants us to store the wind. Seamus Garvey of the Midlands-based university’s Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, believes the future… Read more »
Underwriters Laboratories’ time-tested system supports governmental product safety regulations, and helps companies meet the challenge of accessing global markets while bringing safer products to consumers. Building on the company’s product safety heritage, UL has expanded into environmental claims verification and sustainability standards development, as well as verification services supporting supply chain integrity. Wind energy is… Read more »
It’s fair to say that for certain ancillary industries, trading has been tough. The logistics and transportation sectors have suffered in recent months, stifled by a slowing of new wind projects. Nevertheless, Matias Setälä, Director of Silvasti Logistics, is one of many executives who remains bullish about the future. PES asked him why he believes… Read more »
Hamburg-based COLI Schiffahrt & Transport GmbH & Co KG has been in the break bulk business for more than 35 years, gaining an enviable reputation as a specialist in transporting wind power components by sea. Felix Peinemann, Director of Shipping, explains how the company has built its success on customised solutions for the wind power… Read more »
Economic prosperity, progress and environmental protection – for the turbine manufacturer, Nordex, these go hand in hand. Since 1985 the company has been developing increasingly efficient turbines that help meet the global demand for energy while reducing the impact on the environment. PES investigates. As an internationally expanding company, Nordex has a footprint in all… Read more »
Americas Wind Energy Corporation – Financial Analysis Review;Americas Wind Energy Corporation (Americas Wind) is an independent wind turbines manufacturer. The company is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of medium sized wind turbines mostly between 500 and 1,000 megawatts (MW). It employs the Lagerwey Direct Drive technology to increase the reliability and performance of its… Read more »