There are currently five consented offshore wind developments planned for off the North East coast of Scotland, so the region is trailblazing in terms of investment and tangible projects getting off the ground. Part of AREG’s strategy is to identify and drive forward projects that will bring economic development value to the region. We want… Read more »
Archives: Exclusive Articles
Custom sensor solutions
Thijs Haselhoff, New Business Development Manager at Althen Sensors & Controls, talks to PES about the latest sensor solutions for offshore windfarms, and how the newest Quick Connect feature for fibre optic sensors makes instrumenting offshore as easy as ABC. PES: Welcome to PES Wind. Can you briefly introduce your company? Thijs Haselhoff: Altheris Sensors… Read more »
Personnel access
In this, the third of four articles, we will examine the rope access, work positioning and enclosed space entry capabilities of ActSafe Powered winches. In wind energy, it is imperative that maintenance and construction personnel can reach their place of work and perform tasks as efficiently as possible to reduce work time and get tasks… Read more »
Colombia Microgrid
Trojan brings power to the northern state of Choco, located in western Colombia, in the Municipality of Acandi, an area that is mainly jungle, along the Caribbean Sea bordering Panama. This region is in a remote area of the country that is not tied to an electrical grid. The Colombian government issued a mandate to… Read more »
The future of scalable, smart energy storage solutions
We are hearing more and more about solutions for making electricity available in remote locations. PES finds out about the latest revolutionary modular energy system, which might overcome the challenges of delivering electricity to rural areas. Power-Blox is the first scalable energy product that uses ‘Swarm Power’ and is capable of both storing and distributing… Read more »
Why the poor pay more for utilities?
It is clear that the solar revolution is sweeping across the globe, with or without governmental incentives. Particularly in North America, the largest job creator in the past year has been singularly the solar industry. But a deeper analysis reveals that most of the growth over the past decade has been in utility-scale sector, although… Read more »
Changes in US solar distribution
Dr Ganesan Visvabharathy, founder CEO of Solar Micronics Incorporated, shares his enthusiasm for providing clean energy to low income families with PES. The company has a wide portfolio, in a variety of areas and so brings a plethora of skills and expertise to the solar market. PES: We are pleased to welcome you to PES… Read more »
A South African flagship for communal energy independence
Schneider Electric and AdSolar collaborated to build a unique solution giving energy independence and self-sustainability to a high end residential estate development in South Africa using a community level centralized storage with decentralized power generation. Background At a time of rolling black-outs on the South African electricity grid, AdSolar was tasked with designing a power… Read more »
Global Connections
With the productive use of renewable energy it is possible to accelerate clean energy access to rural areas. The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) explains how to PES. 1.1 billion people live without access to electricity and approximately 87% of these live in rural areas characterised by remoteness and sparse population density, where the extension… Read more »
Choosing the right charge controller for your off-grid application
PES caught up with Brad Berwald, Morningstar Product Manager, to learn all about their new product designed for domestic, rural use. Another company in our industry who is experiencing growth and positive global reception of its products with more to come. PES: We are pleased to welcome you back to PES Solar/PV. For the benefit… Read more »
All round optimisation
PES was pleased to have the opportunity follow up and find out about the latest updates to KUBUS and the M10 Solar Campus, with Gregor Reddeman, the CEO at M10 Industries AG. Things are still looking good, with expansion and innovation continuing well in to 2018. PES: Welcome back to PES Solar/PV magazine. Thanks for… Read more »
The simple missing link
Xander van Mechelen, CTO of Kipp & Zonen, dropped in to tell PES about the DustIQ, the simple missing link in a mature solar energy industry. It has been quite a year and 2018 is also full of promise. PES: We are pleased to welcome you back to PES Solar/PV magazine. For our new readers… Read more »
How reliable does solar PV need to be?
PV Plant downtime is dead time and therefore investors’ eyes light up when we can demonstrate exceptional PV plant uptime performances in capricious environments around the globe. But precisely how reliable does solar PV need to be? The industry’s aim, for sure, is to compete with traditional non-sustainable energy sources, such as coal and gas,… Read more »
POE-based encapsulant films help enhance glass/glass PV module reliability
Demand for glass/glass PV module construction is growing due to the inherent benefits that allow both the back and front panel of the module to produce electricity. This is especially true in highly reflective environments like deserts, near water, rooftops, and above parking lots. The dual layers of glass also reduce the need for bulky… Read more »
Up in the clouds
PES caught up with Richard Reno, Senior Executive, Renewables Segment, GE’s Power Conversion business, to hear about their capacity to supply every aspect of a solar farm’s lifespan, the importance of digitalization and Predix, their open cloud-based digital platform. PES: We are pleased to welcome you to PES Solar/PV. Would you like to begin by… Read more »
Hind Beaujon, Head of Market Segment Coating, Pfeiffer Vacuum explains to PES the importance of China to the vacuum suppliers and the different emerging developments.
PES: Welcome back to PES Solar/PV magazine. Thanks for talking with us. For the benefit of our new readers would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of your organisation and how you currently serve the solar/PV industry? Hind Beaujon: Pfeiffer Vacuum is a leading company in the field of vacuum… Read more »
Energy and power management using PV energy storage and a DC nanogrid
Ferroamp, a Swedish company founded in 2010, has developed a unique system that takes the integration of PV power and energy storage in facilities, to a new level. The product concept is based on a unique approach for managing phase unbalance in three phase systems. PES went to find out more about this latest technology…. Read more »
Fast response sensor for solar energy resource assessment and forecasting
Our industry continually strives to get better, smarter energy. Research and development means there are always new innovations on the market. PES brings you the latest in fast response sensors from EKO, for measuring solar radiation due to various cloud conditions. This plays an important part in the quality of converted energy from solar devices…. Read more »
The wait is over
A new generation, of highly flexible modular energy storage solutions, finally overcomes the standby mentality of the energy storage market. PES caught up with Alvaro Garcia, Managing Director of Storing Renewable Energy Ltd, part of EFT Group, official service partner for BYD B-Box in Europe, about the energy storage market trends visible at Intersolar Europe… Read more »
It’s solar PV show time
PES brings you two great show previews, Solar Power International (SPI) and Energy Storage International (ESI), September 10th to 13th 2017, Las Vegas and European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) September 25th to 29th 2017, Munich Germany. Hopefully we will see you at one of them. Fusing solar energy and technology for… Read more »
EU PVSEC 2017
Our second preview is of the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC 2017). Once again this will be an exciting event with the possibility of seeing the latest innovations, meeting up with the key players in our industry and a golden networking opportunity. Conference: 25 – 29 September 2017 Exhibition: 25 –… Read more »
The importance of emerging markets
AlterPower AG is a consultancy and development company in the renewable energy sector. The team consists of professionals with over 15 years’ expertise in the solar/PV industry from investment to implementation. In July they announced the signing of joint contract with its partners and local developers in emerging markets, for a pipeline of over 3… Read more »
The importance of laser processes
In the PV industry the demand for solar modules used to be much higher than the production capacity. Nowadays companies are fighting for every part of the market share and obtainable margins are minuscule. And laser processes play a major role in this competition. The end customers have become picky about quality issues to do… Read more »
High efficiency, high performance storage
Michael Geib, Vice President of Global Sales and Christian Went, International Account Manager at TESVOLT, came in to PES to catch us up on their latest lithium-ion battery storage systems. The UK market is of interest, one reason being the flexible tariffs. PES: We are pleased to welcome you back to PES Solar/PV magazine. For… Read more »
Heterojunction solar cells go big
Driving the development of high performance heterojunction solar cells from R&D up to industrial mass production. PES asks Meyer Burger to bring us up to date on the continuous improvement which is enabling high efficiencies and reduced costs. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015, a climate agreement was signed by… Read more »
Wind Energy In Motion
Words: Antti Turunen, Head of Global Service, ZF Wind Power The wind energy industry has grown up. Sophisticated technologies and a tough market call for more than just a professional repair of faulty equipment. Up to the medium power range it has become a commodity market where quality has become a given and where typical… Read more »
EU inspection innovation
PES brings you WInspector, an advanced and innovative approach for on-site inspection of wind turbine blades. A research and innovation project which is part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. A consortium, composed of five members, TWI, WRS, Innora, Gamesa and London South Bank University has come together to find a solution for wind… Read more »
UAV technology rises to the challenge
Words: Shelley Regan Across the renewables industry, UAV technology is now an established and essential part of maintenance inspections and surveys. The accessibility and capability of the mission-critical data gathered for asset integrity inspections has been a ‘game changer’. It is not just the savings in terms of time- and cost-efficiency that are decisive, but… Read more »
Watch out for the new generation of heavy lift vessels
PES is pleased to bring you a preview of the latest multipurpose vessels: the new R-Class, from Spliethoff, buit in the Zhejiang Ouhua shipyard in China. The ships will be just the ticket for the offshore wind industry. Amsterdam-based shipping company Spliethoff has placed an order for six multipur-pose vessels at the Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding… Read more »
Cold climate testing
PES went to Belgium to investigate the latest development in extreme climate testing. The OWI-lab is using field experience to provide a purpose built testing facility in the heart Europe. Alternative energy sources are a key part in achieving the goals set at the Paris climate conference in December 2015. Non-polluting energy sources are seen… Read more »
Subsea cable installation in bad weather – making it work
Constructing offshore wind farms can be a tricky business. In particular, the current generation of offshore wind projects because they are moving further from shore into deeper, less sheltered water. This makes absolute sense when you consider it from the perspective of the soon-to-be proud owners. After all, you want to put your wind farm… Read more »
CTVs in the Baltic and North Sea.
What makes a good Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV)? SeaRenergy carried out an extensive study and shares the results with PES, highlighting ideas and suggestions based on design and offshore site challenges. With the first offshore wind projects evolving in the Baltic Sea, SeaRenergy was recently asked for advice on suitable crew transfer vessels for these… Read more »
Onshore wind from Scotland’s remote islands?
By Lindsay Roberts, Senior Policy Manager, Scottish Renewables With two-thirds of the UK’s onshore capacity and an offshore sector now getting steel in the water, Scotland has long been a leading champion of the wind sector. The country is the birthplace of wind-powered electricity generation and the windiest place in Europe, with 25% of the… Read more »
One contract, a complete package of services
PES brings you Offshore Project Support, your complete service provider in the offshore wind industry. Smarter, cost reducing and more efficient offshore wind industry. It’s possible. Offshore Project Support (OPS) from the Netherlands combines the knowledge, experience and equipment of four different offshore companies. Together, they are ‘the toolbox at sea’. A complete service for… Read more »
All Aboard for Offshore Wind Energy 2017!
This summer, the largest and most spectacular global gathering of the offshore wind industry takes place in London. PES brings you an appetiser and we hope to see you there. On June 6-8, WindEurope and RenewableUK are joining forces to host Offshore Wind Energy 2017, the world’s largest offshore wind conference and exhibition. Taking place… Read more »
Transfer services with a plus
PES went to meet up with David Kristensson, Group CEO, Rasmus Johansson, CEO and Fredrik Hallqvist, Chief Commercial Officer at NOS, to hear about the way the Northern Group are establishing themselves as an all-round solution provider and problem solving company. PES: Can you explain the thinking and the background to the Northern Group? … Read more »