Wind power, one of the fastest-growing sources of energy around the world, is popular, not least because of its obvious abundance and because it provides many communities with a clean, local source of electricity, as opposed to imported fossil fuels. In the US – which recently passed Germany to become the country producing the most… Read more »
The US Department of Energy has traditionally concentrated its efforts and support on the oil industry, but in recent months it has shifted its stance towards renewables, and specifically towards wind energy, investing massive amounts in research and development and manufacturing. PES looks at the motivation behind this change and examines what economic factors and… Read more »
The battle lines are drawn for supremacy in the developing US offshore wind-generation business as various states vie to be the first to achieve that crucial milestone – going online. So what stage are we currently at in this all-important race? Jennifer Zajac of SNL Energy is your guide to the current movers and shakers… Read more »
In 1912 Frederick Law jumped from the Statue of Liberty in New York City and the modern-day sport of BASE-jumping was born. BASE, an acronym standing for the four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: Building, Antenna, Span and Earth, has been gaining in popularity recently and it was only ever a… Read more »
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, was formed for the purpose of permitting the President to determine the effect on national security of a transaction that results in foreign control of a US business. Foreign investments in domestic wind energy generation projects may come under scrutiny, and parties to… Read more »
Jennifer Layke, Deputy Director, Climate and Energy Program, World Resources Institute, and Rick Bunch, Managing Director, The Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, discuss a number of options for overcoming the real and perceived challenges to wind power purchasing. {pagebreak} Wind power is increasingly sought as an environmentally friendly part… Read more »
The US military is taking a lead in using economically-viable wind farms to generate low-cost energy for its installations around the US and abroad. While, at face value, this seems to be excellent news for the renewables industry, there is a potential major flaw in the plan, as PES discovers… It was recently reported that… Read more »
A new buzzword is striking fear and excitement in the hearts and minds of renewable energy developers and transmission providers: ‘integration.’ The term can get stakeholders from all sides of the energy industry shouting across the table. It is also a sign of how far the renewable energy industry has come in making resources such… Read more »
Kurt E Thomsen’s company Advanced Offshore Solutions (AOS) was a pioneer in the field of offshore windfarm installations. Here, he talks to PES about the successes of the industry and how AOS plans to meet the severe challenges it is likely to face in the near future. {pagebreak} PES: Welcome to PES magazine, Can… Read more »
Transiting the Northeast-Passage, applying a towing kite system, utilising the shark skin effect – three different topics, one common interface: Beluga Shipping GmbH, the project and heavy lift carrier known for great innovative spirit and the philosophy to go off the beaten tracks of commercial shipping. {pagebreak} Three Beluga vessels are the first to… Read more »
Finnish heavy haulage and project forwarding company Silvasti Ltd. specialises in wind turbine projects in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. The company provides total logistics solutions for the most challenging installations, and in 2008, received a major contract to deliver 13 x 3 MW wind turbines to Aulepa Wind Park, on the west coast… Read more »
The global energy marketplace remains increasingly competitive and customers are striving hard to increase their productivity. Considering this pressure, they are continuing to seek out innovative means to reduce energy consumption as one method to remain competitive. {pagebreak} To satisfy this demand Mobil Industrial Lubricants is clearly identifying those lubricants of its portfolio that demonstrate… Read more »
Intellifast GmbH is a leading name in the ultrasonic load measurement business, launching on to the market in 1997 with a focus on the world biggest bolt consumers – the car industry. Here, Managing Director Frank Scheuch talks to PES about the company, its expansion into the wind industry, and his vision for its future.Intellifast… Read more »
TradeWind – the European project funded under the EU’s Intelligent Energy-Europe programme – has recently published an essential 100-page paper on the state of the European wind power industry. In this exclusive extract from the comprehensive, hard-hitting report, PES picks out all the important and salient issues facing us all as we move into an… Read more »
pes presents half a dozen lessons, which if heeded in future offshore projects, together with the other parts of the offshore wind ecosystem, we can make for smoother, quicker, and cheaper installations and ultimately, better windfarms for the production of clean energy. {pagebreak} Over the years we have all heard much about the potential of… Read more »
The Times of London has just published its first green global rich list, with many tycoons and executives from the wind industry making the top 100, including the USA’s Warren Buffett who tops the poll at number one, being worth a cool Euro 37bn. Here, PES presents your handy guide to the top 10 movers… Read more »
During the past decade it has become extremely important to optimise all aspects of product design. Competition is tougher than ever and steel costs have skyrocketed. For economic reasons each component must be utilised to its maximum capacity. Bolted joints became the centre of attention after recent findings that they are often used to as… Read more »
Considerable wind resources place many countries across the region in an enviable position. Yet capitalising on those resources can prove problematic, due to local planning restrictions. This case study from the UK highlights the problems faced and offers a number of solutions that will resonate with wind energy suppliers throughout Europe. {pagebreak} The UK has… Read more »
CN’s rail network spans Canada and mid America, from the Atlantic and Pacifc oceans to the Gulf of Mexico. Combined with the railroad’s ability to work with connecting rail carriers throughout North America and the fact that CN provides service at more ports than any other North American railroad, CN offers attractive shipping solutions for companies… Read more »
Making wind tower maintenance easier and more efficient, international premium shrinkwrap supplier Dr. Shrink offers its new TowerMinders. Instead of crews using the traditional rope with rags tied around it to stabilize work platforms on towers, they can now utilize this innovative rolling ball system to make the job easier and safer. {pagebreak} TowerMinders eliminates… Read more »
London, UK, June 23, 2009 – Ahead of the eighth annual British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) offshore wind event that starts in London tomorrow, the European-based Renewables team of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH), the global insurance broker, say that insurers are increasingly seeing offshore wind as an attractive investment area with considerable growth potential. {pagebreak}… Read more »
Even heavy-duty wind generation equipment needs protection from the elements. Ensuring turbine blades remain in top shape during storage and in transit, international premium shrinkwrap supplier Dr. Shrink introduces the revolutionary Wind Bag. {pagebreak} A blade enclosure system, the company’s thick 10 mil shrinkwrap is used to make covers for wind turbine blades, protecting them… Read more »
What’s happening:BWEA UK Wind Week 2009: 13 – 21st June 2009. The UK’s biggest celebration of wind energy takes place over 9 days this June, with over 20 wind farms and supporters opening their doors across the country. {pagebreak} UK Wind Week will be promoting the benefits and opportunities offered by wind energy in terms… Read more »
Global Soft Landing Center for Small and Medium-sized German Companies engaged in the “Renewable Energies” Industry to be launched in the USA in June 2009! Official Announcement and “Virtual Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony” to take place on May 6th 2009 at the WINDPOWER® 2009 in Chicago, Illinois {pagebreak} Düsseldorf/Philadelphia, April 20, 2009. The new American government is bringing the… Read more »
Tentec, a leading UK designer and manufacturer of bolt tightening equipment will be exhibiting its new Aero series of Bolt Tensioning Tools for Wind Power Generation alongside its exclusive distributor, HTS Beijing, on stand 1B25 at Windpower Asia 2009. {pagebreak} The exhibition is taking place in Beijing, China from 8-10th July. The Aero range comprises… Read more »
The rapid expansion of the wind power generation market, fueled by both private and government initiatives, requires a similarly rapid increase in the production of wind turbine components. This is particularly true in the manufacture of turbine blades, which continue to grow in both demand and size. To maintain or increase output efficiency, larger blades… Read more »
PES meets Niels Stolberg, President and CEO of Beluga Shipping GmbH, the world’s market leader in the project- and heavylift sector, and discovers that the US wind industry is a highly important and burgeoning market segment for the company. PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Firstly, can you give us a basic overview of Beluga Shipping… Read more »
NRG Systems, leading U.S. manufacturer of wind measurement equipment, and Leosphere, leading specialist in lidar (laser radar) for atmospheric observations, have announced the formation of a global partnership to expand the use of remote sensing with lidar in the wind energy industry. The first product of the partnership is the WINDCUBE lidar wind measurement system,… Read more »
Modern gears are performing heavier work and carrying greater loads than ever before. Gear manufacturers are redesigning, modernising and using finer steels to produce precision gears that will give better performance. This has never been truer than in the wind industry and the gears designed specifically for use in wind turbines. Furthermore, there is an… Read more »
Sicme Motori and EEI are planning to present their revolutionary Twind solution at Windpower 2009. The application is the result of extensive engineering and marketing cooperation between two of the leaders in the global energy market and is designed specifically to provide a single-source electrical conversion solution for energy production from renewable sources. {pagebreak} At… Read more »
The wind energy sector is attracting new sources of capital that compensate for banks’ general reluctance to provide debt finance for projects, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) announced last week. A growing number of power companies with strong balance sheets are investing in wind energy and there is increasing interest from institutional investors, despite… Read more »
Delegates left the European Wind Energy Conference 2009 (EWEC) last week with the reminder that wind energy is Europe’s number one in terms of new power capacity ringing in their ears. {pagebreak} “In 2008, we installed 8,454 MW of wind capacity, making up 36% of power installations”, stressed Arthouros Zervos, President of the European Wind… Read more »
Tentec Appoints McCann Equipment in Canada as Agents for Aero Wind Turbine Tools Continuing the expansion of its global network for the sales, distribution and service of the recently launched Aero range of hydraulic bolt tensioners for wind turbines, {pagebreak} Tentec is pleased to announce the appointment of McCann Equipment as its agent in Canada…. Read more »
Our aim is to be the number one wind project logistics provider in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries Silvasti is a freight forwarder that specialises in oversized, heavy and project cargo. The company provides total logistics solutions for the most challenging transports and installations – especially for the wind industry. {pagebreak} Here, Director Matias Setälä… Read more »
Renewable energy will grow despite the global financial crisis Xxx, xxx for Intellifast discusses his company’s bolt tightening systems and takes a look at the wind industry from a wider perspective. {pagebreak} PES: Welcome back to the magazine. For the benefit of our new readers, can you describe what Intellifast does, and how its products… Read more »
Wind energy will be one of our core businesses in the future As one of the industry’s biggest players, with a formidable record for investment in research and development, Emerson Network Power has just enjoyed a record trading year. {pagebreak} Jeky Li Gang, International Sales, Department Of Wind Power Product, talks to PES about the… Read more »