No, Wind Energy Asia is vital to the development of the supply chain in Taiwan PES brings you a review of Wind Energy Asia 2020, which took place from March 3rd -5th and a look at forward to the upcoming edition in 2021. In mid-February 2020, as the show approached, the coronavirus spread was heating… Read more »
Archives: Exclusive Articles
The importance of a change culture
If a leopard could not change its spots, it would have long been extinct had it been masquerading as a vessel owner in the offshore industry! ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.’ —Charles Darwin… Read more »
Digital solutions for offshore windfarm cable protection and life extension
With the increasing trend toward cleaner energy sources, offshore wind technology plays a vital role in supporting the global transition to renewable energy. Development of shallow water locations is increasing in volume and pace, with the industry moving toward the more substantive wind energy resources that are found offshore in deeper waters, through the application… Read more »
Wind work by drone
Fast, precise… cost-effective After the media hype, it’s time to confirm it: the UAV is a formidable tool at the service of the wind power industry. SupAirVision is inventing and developing new uses for the UAV to meet the needs of the wind industry: inspection, painting and test of the lightning protection system (LPS). ‘The… Read more »
Integrated quality control in offshore wind
PES caught up with Wim Keen, CSO of STEEL INSPECT. He was happy to tell us about the services the company provides to the offshore wind energy sector and gave an introduction to their unique total quality concept, Q7, which is used to manage the quality of complete offshore wind EPCI projects. PES: Hi Wim,… Read more »
U.S. offshore wind: an ambitious project
Anyone familiar with the current offshore wind (OSW) project pipeline along the United States’ East Coast, knows that this undertaking has great potential to turn into the envisioned one trillion-dollar industry in the coming decades. The current plan is to install 13 offshore wind farms totaling 9.1GW power output by 2026 [AWEA Status Update 2020],… Read more »
The circular economy
The declaration of a climate emergency in Scotland, quickly followed by the rest of the UK, has been a boon for the renewable energy sector. After all, without clean power, heat and transport fuels, our ambitious net-zero targets are totally out of reach. But we know tackling the carbon emissions caused by our increasing demand… Read more »
Enabling the digitization of infrastructure assets
Scopito ApS grew from a hobby and a bet, how many companies can say this about their origins? We at PES were intrigued and wanted to know more, so we decided to talk with CEO and Founder, Ken Isobe Falk. The end result is their state-of-the-art inspection software, which is used in drone inspections and… Read more »
The winds of change
Delivering climate neutrality requires adequate new national energy strategies, policies, and regulatory frameworks to be in place due to the massive energy transformation needed. The European Union has been at the forefront of global climate action so far, and is the first major economy to put in place a legally binding framework to deliver on… Read more »
Gain knowledge, get attention, make contact
Here is the second unmissable PES show preview. In a couple of weeks, the 14th edition of Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference opens its virtual doors! Enough said about the challenges and limitations that Covid-19 poses to all of us and our industry. Much can be done, especially online, to connect with our peers, have… Read more »
Through life management of wind assets: a holistic decision-making process
By 2040, it is expected that around 4GW of the UK’s onshore wind capacity will be repowered projects. The next few years will see slow growth in this sector, around 100MW per year from 2020, but increasing to around 500MW per year by 2035. So as a significant number of wind turbines begin to reach… Read more »
The importance of a workforce in the booming wind industry
With the world engaged in the energy transition and the environmental sustainability high on business agendas, scientists and governments are working to identify alternative technologies that will generate enough energy to meet the growing demand while reducing greenhouse emissions. The wind sector and the energy transition Within the transition trend, there is a wide portfolio of alternative… Read more »
Learning from the past to secure floating offshore wind’s future
How lessons from the oil and gas industry can support the floating offshore wind (FLOW) sector’s sustainable development Floating offshore wind has the potential to substantially increase access to an unlimited energy resource in deeper waters, and can play a crucial role in driving the world’s transition to clean energy. This paper examines the importance… Read more »
Digitalisation crucial to satisfying investor needs amid evolving post-subsidy market challenges
It is not an understatement to say that 2020 has been one of the most turbulent years in recent history, with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to seismic shifts in industries the world-over. But despite significant supply chain disruption, the renewables industry has remained remarkably resilient compared to conventional power and wider infrastructure asset classes. A… Read more »
Challenges in offshore wind farm installation
In recent years, the construction of offshore wind farms has flourished as many countries strive to increase the share of renewable energy in their overall energy mix. Offshore wind offers some significant advantages compared to onshore developments, including stronger and more stable wind conditions ensuring a more dependable energy output, sufficient space in the national… Read more »
Small vessels for large waves
The daughter craft for wind farms far from shore Over the last three years we have seen the introduction of purpose-built Service Offshore Vessels (SOV). These 70-100 m long vessels service wind farms, where a long distance to shore makes a land-based service organization impractical. Typically, 40-60 technicians live onboard the vessels and are transferred… Read more »
Portable accommodation, workshops and technical solutions for the offshore market
Although being versatile is not a goal on its own, it does pay off to be able to meet the ever-changing requirements of the offshore market. The saying ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’ is confirmed in the offshore market on a daily basis. Working around these changes of plan… Read more »
Failure modes in offshore wind turbines: pitch systems
The reliability of an offshore wind turbine and the resources required to maintain it can make up ~30% of the overall cost of energy, thus determining and understanding offshore wind turbine failure rates is vital for modelling and reducing O&M costs and in turn minimizing the levelized cost of energy (LCoE). The reliability of an… Read more »
Pulling much more than its own weight
Newly developed ground-based winch system shortens the amount of time needed to replace large components When a large component of a wind turbine fails, the operator often has no other choice but to have the damaged component replaced. This often involves a considerable amount of organisational work and financial expense – not just for the… Read more »
The show must go on!
PES brings you a show preview not to be missed. Now more than ever it’s important to keep up to date with what’s going on in our industry. Physical meetings are not currently possible, but there’s no reason not to keep up with the latest virtual offerings. Don’t miss out! RenewableUK’s Global Offshore Wind 2020… Read more »
The next energy frontier: floating wind farms
The global energy transition is underway. The uptake of renewables is accelerating, as the technology undercuts fossil fuel based energy generation and governments seek to achieve international climate targets. Renewable energy is now also accepted as an opportunity to drive green economic growth and job creation to help support the recovery from the impacts of… Read more »
3 years of growth in offshore energy
As the world begins to open up again after the devastation of COVID-19, Cargostore Worldwide talks to PES Wind about how they have managed to stay profitable during the pandemic. We explore the company’s timeline of growth over the last three years which has led to their current position in the offshore container industry. 2017… Read more »
Smart anti-theft protection for PV plants
PES had a great interview with Oliver Strecke, CEO and Marco Thesing, CSO and business development manager at viamon. They have amazing security solutions, where trace and catch are strong deterrents. TRAPS came on to the market last year and is proving very successful. They have a bright outlook on the future, with many orders… Read more »
New opportunities for integrated solar electricity
New PV technologies make it possible to create more diversity to the utilization of solar energy. High efficiency, low cost and good looks of PV applications make it feasible to integrate solar power to new products and environments. Any self-powering object creates a local energy source. Solar energy can be used in many building integrated… Read more »
Innovation and digitalization: on the path towards sustainable development
Well aware that global energy challenges are changing rapidly, at Studer we are focusing on creating simple solutions to complex problems. Access to electricity for all, the energy transition, automation, digitalization and electric mobility are all topics and issues that set the pace and influence the creation of all our products and services. In energy… Read more »
PV connectors: proven interchangeability
With the steady growth of solar power and the increase of PV plants worldwide, a new series of PV modules, suitable for 1500-Volt systems, is on the rise. The higher demand for the latest, ‘1500 Volt ready’ generation of PV connectors from Stäubli Electrical Connectors, raises the question of the interchangeability of the new MC4-Evo… Read more »
How developing robots for the solar industry can take you to new areas
SolarCleano has been developing and selling robots to clean solar panels for 3 years. Based on the cleaning experience of its founder, Pol Duthoit, it created a robot usable by lone workers. Along the way, SolarCleano made a few discoveries that helped it tackle more issues. Solar panels exist in all shapes and sizes When… Read more »
Where would solar sites be without thermographers?
Kim van der Heide, Product Marketing Specialist at SITEMARK, thought it would be interesting to interview Sophie Sándor, Senior Data Processing and Analytics Engineer, SITEMARK about her job as a thermographer. Sophie’s qualifications are outstanding: a double Masters in Geology and Exploration Geophysics, Certified in Thermal Imaging Category 1 (PCN-1 certification, Infrared Thermography (IRT-ISO 18436-7)…. Read more »
Innovative, efficient new technologies
Dr.-Ing. Stefan Rinck, CEO at SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES and PES go back a long way. This is a company at the forefront of technology. They develop and assemble ground-breaking machines and systems, resulting in efficient and resource-saving production processes, which are used world-wide in the solar/PV industry as well as in other market segments. PES: Welcome… Read more »
Top quality solar solutions from North America
Silfab Solar is a North American manufacturer of high-efficiency, premium quality solar panels and solar solutions. Our company leverages over 35 years of experience spanning the entire vertical Photo Voltaic value chain including R&D, engineering and product innovation. With our experience in the PV industry, premium product offering and our nimble business model, the company… Read more »
The sun as a natural power plant
Powerful vacuum technology and reliable tightness control for improved efficiencies of solar receivers When solar energy for electricity generation is discussed, photovoltaic systems most often come to mind. However, concentrated solar power systems are gaining popularity as an interesting alternative. In this type of power plants, collector systems concentrate sunlight and collect it on an… Read more »
PID: a problem in the global solar industry
The performance degradation of solar modules Renewable energies are among the most important sources of electricity in Germany. Their expansion is a central pillar of the energy transition. Solar energy is one of the most significant renewable energy sources. Photovoltaic systems and solar parks represent an ever-increasing share of global energy production, because photovoltaics offer… Read more »
Sunny forecast for Irish solar
Ireland’s first competitive auction for renewable energy capacity took place this summer. The results spell sunny times ahead for the nascent solar industry in Ireland and mark an important step towards the country’s target to meet 70% of its electricity supply from renewables by 2030. Auction results According to provisional results issued by electricity market… Read more »
Smart, reliable, robust and cost effective
‘Noticing the lack of EV- charging stations around Europe kick-started the development of carport systems at Mounting Systems. The process of finding the perfect equilibrium between strength, design, cost and function led to the making of over 30 different designs. After close collaboration with customers and building multiple prototypes, we developed safe and reliable carport… Read more »
Shaping the future of professional PV monitoring
At PES, we thought it was time to discuss PV monitoring with Stefan Rensberg Head of Product Management at meteocontrol. Stefan has seen a big change in this area and is absolutely confident of its importance in the PV plant of today and tomorrow. Things have come a long way over the last 15 years… Read more »
M12 solar cells are racing on to the market
Last year it was still believed that the next solar cell size standard in the industry would be M6. The much larger M12 was on the horizon, but it was not believed to arrive at mass production the market so soon. Just one year later the cell is available and some module producers have announced… Read more »