Exclusive Articles
Condition-based maintenance is perfect for renewable energy
Words: Kristian Holm, VP Renewables & Utilities at Kongsberg Digital A typical wind turbine is equipped with a huge number of sensors, signal processors, and other types of monitoring equipment to ensure that it maintains its autonomous operations. These data points provide a myriad of data which can be used to optimise the operation of… Read more »
Islet of the Grindstones
PES brings you Jan De Nul’s experience of constructing the Tahkoluoto wind farm. The geographical location, the elements and the difficult terrain all posed different types of challenges. Previous knowledge gained on other ventures, suitable equipment and engineering skills were crucial to the success of this project. Possible ice and rocky soil: these were the… Read more »
Accept the competitive challenge and keep the wind blowing
Auctions are becoming the standard instrument for granting state support in almost all European markets. In economic terms, this is the right step to take as it subjects renewables to market forces and rewards the most efficient projects. This was evident in the latest UK Government Contract for Difference (CfD) auction round, designed to support… Read more »
Wind installation – the future unfolding with the foldable offshore crane
Words: Wouter Slob, Tender & Concepts Engineer, Huisman, the Netherlands The development of current and future offshore wind farms is picking up with wind installation contractors further optimising their toolboxes for efficient installation of offshore wind turbines. Up to now the jack-up vessel has been the platform of choice for installation of wind turbines; providing… Read more »
Transformed into the largest substation provider in just 15 years
In 2002 the first ever offshore high voltage substation was delivered by HSM Offshore. This was under an EPCI contract from Eltra/Energinet, for the Horns Rev A project, off the Danish West coast. Things have gone from strength to strength since then, as this report to PES shows. Earlier this year the company signed the… Read more »
A 100% renewable energy future
A PES exclusive from Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General. This is his perspective on the options for a world using 100% renewable energy, based on research and years of experience in our industry. Ever since the oil shocks of the 1970s, and the early emergence of commercial wind turbines, solar hot water heaters, and the… Read more »
Marine operations standards in offshore wind
Words: Steven Foong, Global Maritime This article will look at the marine operations standards and guidelines that are emerging; areas that need to be considered in putting in place such standards; and how it is also incumbent on the marine providers themselves to put the necessary mechanisms in place internally. There’s no doubt that offshore… Read more »
Safety first
Words: Scott Starr, Firetrace International, Marketing Director Wind turbine fire protection: investing to protect the bottom line. Fire is the second leading cause of accidents in wind turbines after blade failure1, with the average overall cost of a wind turbine fire being around $4.5m2. Given that $112.5bn was ploughed in to wind power globally in… Read more »
International service for wind turbines is in a transformational phase
Words: Matthias Brandt, Board Director, Deutsche Windtechnik The global wind energy market has always been subject to constant change, but it has rarely changed as rapidly as it is right now. Political realities are evolving, and they are forcing the market to produce results based on one clear objective: absolute cost reduction. Increasing cost pressure… Read more »
The safety of knowledge
Words: Ignacio Serrada and Alfonso Hernández, members of Offshore and Modular Department By the end of October, the first shipment of transition pieces (TP) for the MERKUR offshore wind project had been completed. The brief was to take full responsibility for organising the transportation and associated engineering, to ship these components from the manufacturer’s premises… Read more »
