As head of one of the ‘greenest companies’ in America, Pall’s Keith Webb has a duty not only to his stakeholders, but also to the global community as a whole. It’s a responsibility he ably administers, driven by a zeal for innovation and corporate success. Here, he tells PES about the company’s rapid growth, its… Read more »
Transporting wind power components by ship requires a lot of expertise and experience. Employing its own team of experts with many years of specialist knowledge in this arena, shipbroker COLI provides the appropriate tonnage – made-to-measure for all cargo components, including complete wind turbines. When the ship intended to carry the cargo ties up at… Read more »
A recent study to quantify renewable energy deployment in North America by the US-based National Academies of Science found that, in terms of national wind power potential, Russia came way ahead of its nearest rivals, with more than 118 Pwh (Petawatt hours). Next on the list was Australia, with a meagre-looking 86 Pwh. No wonder,… Read more »
118 new offshore wind turbines were fully connected to the grid in the first half of 2010 according to new statistics released by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). PES takes a closer look at the trends and figures behind the headlines in this exclusive report. Top-line statsIn the first six months of 2010, 118… Read more »
Words: Birgit Niesing The wind is always more constant at sea than on land – and much stronger. That’s why the wind energy industry is increasingly looking to offshore facilities. The first German wind farm in the North Sea – the ‘alpha ventus’ test and demonstration site – went online just a few months ago…. Read more »
In order to fight climate change, improve energy security, enhance Europe’s competitiveness, and maintain our technological leadership, the European wind industry – together with the European Commission and Member States – has developed a 10-year research and development programme. PES brings you the exclusive highlights of this recently-published study. With a €6bn budget, approximately half… Read more »
It’s an incredibly busy and interesting time to be involved in the European wind industry, Bruce Douglas, COO, EWEA tells PES. Among other ways to get more involved are adopting a wind turbine as your own and attending one or more of the many trade fairs that are taking place throughout Europe … If you… Read more »
A week ago, Statoil AS, Norway’s largest energy company, revealed plans to build a demonstration site testing floating offshore wind turbines off the coast of Scotland. It’s a move that rubber-stamps the industry’s gradual shift to floating platforms, but is the technology up to the task. PES takes a look at the various engineering challenges…. Read more »
Recently a momentous event took place when the official ribbon was cut at Antarctica’s largest wind farm. Located on Ross Island at New Zealand’s Scott Base, the almost 1 MW facility is powered by three 333 kW Enercon wind turbines and will provide up to 11 per cent of the power needed by the base,… Read more »
New energy generation constitutes a major investment, often to the value of hundreds of millions or potentially billions of Euros. And such spending results in widespread economic development, in the form of increased work opportunities, higher salaries, and new customers for local business. PES examines the greater impact of channelling wind farm investment into the… Read more »
So you thought Google was just a highly successful internet search engine? The company’s energy arm recently signed a deal to buy 114 megawatts of energy from a wind farm in Iowa, marking the first deal done by the company’s energy subsidiary A Google spokesman said the company had signed a 20-year power purchase agreement… Read more »
Although Europe is a vast, sprawling continent bursting with innovation, our Asian cousins are old hands at taking a sideways look at the world – as these ingenious turbines from Japan clearly illustrate. At the recent Yokohama Renewable Energy Exhibition, Japanese technology threw-up some exciting developments for the sector, including this revolutionary turbine system that… Read more »
The views on offshore wind projects are as divided as can be, so the slightly polemic title of this article is probably appropriate. There are some who argue that offshore wind is the way to go, and to go now. And there are others who argue that offshore wind is too expensive and too risky… Read more »
The UK has just entered into an historic period of coalition government, which promises to throw the nation’s hard-fought wind power policies into disarray. The coalition governments of Germany, Italy and Austria on the other hand, are forging ahead with inspired legislation, which may shine a light on Britain’s efforts. However, until these governments’ pioneering… Read more »
The first offshore wind park globally was installed in Denmark in 1991. Since then the offshore wind energy market has been developing slowly. Currently, majority of the installations in Europe are located in Denmark and the UK, countries that possess rich wind resources. There is no doubt that offshore installations offer higher productivity when compared… Read more »
For as long as there has been a global wind industry, Husum, a town on Germany’s North Sea coast between Hamburg and the Danish border, has been the venue for its leading trade fair. Yet Husum was showing the latest developments in wind turbine technology long before the industry went global… Technology, innovation, training, and… Read more »
The size of both turbines and wind farms have increased exponentially in recent months thanks to a potent mix of technical improvements, legislation, subsidies and public awareness. Naturally, everyone’s got an opinion on the supersizing of the wind industry… “There is a wonderful race on. It’s very tight and the prize is domination of the… Read more »
High costs of welcoming Hungary to the fold The time taken to connect wind farms to the grid, and the high costs of doing so, are the main barriers to wind energy development in Hungary, it has been revealed in Budapest at a workshop organised by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the Hungarian… Read more »
Despite a buoyant European offshore wind market, offshore construction & installation contractors that fall short of budget and technology challenges risk falling by the wayside. Utility scale developers at the forefront will be seeking out only companies capable of providing and meeting the necessary challenges imposed on the industry today. With a total of 2,396… Read more »
As any manufacturer of wind turbine components will testify, the handling of their precious cargo is of critical importance. PES caught up with John Fricker, General Manager of RoRo/Special Projects, Europe, for Atlantic Container Line (ACL), to discover how his company smoothes the transportation process. PES: Welcome to PES. Firstly, can you tell us a… Read more »
One of the executives who took part in this issue’s roundtable interview was Kurt E. Thomsen, of Advanced Offshore Solutions Aps. Here, he goes into greater depth about a few of the more pressing issues facing the wind industry. PES: What are the obstacles to the development of wind energy?Kurt E. Thomsen: Personnel, equipment, knowledge… Read more »
Investment into Research and Development is important for many global operators within the wind energy sector, but for The Dow Chemical Company, it’s the cornerstone of its operations. Ram Ramachandran, Director of End Use Marketing for Dow Wire & Cable, discusses his company’s $1 billion annual R&D outlay, its commitment to collaboration, and his thoughts… Read more »
From October 5-7, 2010 SGS will be one of the exhibitors at the North American Offshore Wind Conference & Exhibition 2010. At stand no. 313, SGS experts will be demonstrating the wide range of services available for the wind energy industry, including Commissioning and In-Service Inspection, Technical Due Diligence and Risk Management. — SGS, the… Read more »
After many years of loyal service for bolt tightening specialists Tentec, Sales Director Phil Lightwood has announced his well-earned retirement in February 2011. Throughout his 20 years at Tentec, he has seen the company rise to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of bolting solutions to a wide range of industries including… Read more »
SGS presents its wide range of Wind Energy Services at the Delphi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) 2010 with special focus on its Owner’s Representative Services. The DIREC 2010 will take place at the India Expo Center & Mart in New Delhi, India. — SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, is… Read more »
NACEL Energy Corporation today confirmed it has received notification from Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) that bidders in the APS 2010 Small Generation Request for Proposals (RFP) process will be advised of a Shortlist decision on September 15, 2010. In response to the RFP issued by APS, NACEL Energy submitted a comprehensive bid, partnering with… Read more »
Inox to Initiate Volume Production of 2 Megawatt Wind Turbines to Address Indian Wind Energy Market India’s Installed Base of Wind Power Expected to Double in Five Years American Superconductor Corporation, a global power technologies company, today announced that it has received an initial order for 17 wind turbine electrical control systems from Inox Wind… Read more »
Transforming arid farmland into land yielding clean power and jobs, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter joined executives of GE and its partners today to celebrate the start of construction of the state’s largest wind power project, 8 miles from the Oregon Trail where American pioneers pushed westward across the continent. The governor — joined by project… Read more »
The Danish Society of Wind Energy Conference 2010 opened Wednesday in the Vingsted Center in Brested, Denmark. This annual wind energy conference is organized by the Danish Society of Wind Energy. Connie Hedegaard, EU commissioner for climate action, Lykke Friis, Denmark’s climate and energy minister, Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council,… Read more »
Wind turbine services have been experiencing considerable gains with the mushrooming of wind farms and the impending expiration of service contracts. As half of the installed base of the above 1.0 MW wind turbines in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region is less than five years old, they are likely to be under warranty/original… Read more »
On September 7-9, 2010, SGS will exhibit its Renewable Energy Services at the Eolica Expo Mediterranean 2010 at stand no.8 B32. During this leading international event for the wind energy sector in Rome, Daniel Hope, Global Business Development Manager Renewable Energy at SGS, will be holding a speech about the management of wind energy projects… Read more »
Wind Simplicity’s WindancerTM small wind turbine was independently selected for Taschen’s new worldwide survey of sustainable products. High-efficiency, compact and noise-free, the Windancer was designed by Canadian company Wind SimplicityTM Inc. It’s the only wind turbine to feature in Taschen’s latest offering, Product Design in the Sustainable Era, published in July 2010. “It’s great that… Read more »
WindPower Innovations, Inc., today announces Permanent Magnet Direct Drive wind turbine solutions as a key component in its overall mission to provide unique and efficient ways for the wind industry to economically transition into its eminent future. “Permanent Magnet Direct-Drive turbines are the future of wind energy generation,” says Ian Griffiths, Chief Technical Officer of… Read more »
Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) has partnered with Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES Americas) on the Crossroads Wind Energy Project in Dewey County, Okla. RES Americas has developed and will construct the wind energy project, which OG&E will own and operate. The 227.5 MW project will consist of 95 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines and three… Read more »
RES Americas to construct project; Siemens turbine supply deal in effect OG&E announced today that it has completed the purchase of all of the project development assets needed to begin construction of the Crossroads wind farm in northwestern Oklahoma, triggering a turbine-supply agreement with Siemens and enabling Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas) to… Read more »
Gauging the potential of new, renewable energy sources is often a problem when establishing them. Scientists from the Savannah River National Laboratory are working toward a solution for that problem. On a U.S. Coast Guard platform off the coast of Georgetown, SRNL, the Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI) and their partners have begun testing technology… Read more »