Misalignment, looseness, and imbalance are all correctable problems

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Excerpt: While condition monitoring technologies can track many signals, its purpose boils down to detecting wear and preventing the eventual failure of monitored components. Not all megawatt-class wind turbine drivetrains are monitored with the intent to catch degrading components. A few frequently enco …

Partnership establishes $20million center for intelligent power

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Excerpt: The University at Albany announced a partnership to establish a world-class center at its NanoTech Complex that will explore nanotechnology innovations for smart-grid ideas. The university says the partnership will create over 100 high-tech jobs in upstate New York and fuel development and use of cl …

Wind turbine blade comes to DC with signatures and a message

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Excerpt: GE Energy and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) recently delivered a petition from Americans in the form of a 131-foot wind turbine blade. The blade traveled more than 4,000 miles through 10 states gathering signatures from Americans who support a clean energy future. After it arrived in W …

Repower has one GW installed in France

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Excerpt: REpower Systems AG passed the 1GW milestone of wind energy systems installed in France. “One GW roughly corresponds to the output from one to two conventional electric power plants,” says Olivier Perot, Managing Director of Repower S.A.S. The manufacturer has installed about 500 turbines across …

Wind-turbine wing almost ready for takeoff

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Excerpt: A California company is developing a flying matrix of wind turbines that will reach into the troposphere, as much as seven miles up. The multi-wing turbine, a concept from Joby Energy in Santa Cruz, says it can be scaled to carry many turbines. The initial concept shows a wing with 12 turbines. For …

Line of vibration-data collectors adds another

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Excerpt: Vibxpert II is the latest addition to the Prueftechnik family of portable route-based vibration data collectors. The device is rugged, lightweight, and combines the advantages of a rapid processor with an energy-efficient color VGA display. Enhanced with an Fmax of 51KHz and up to 102,400 lines of r …

Gearing up for “greener” business

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Excerpt: Chicago-based gear shop sees an airy future in the wind industry. Recently purchased machines let engineers design, cut, inspect, and analyze gears. Gear Technology, a gear manufacturer and services provider, recently purchased a Fellows CNC Gear Shaper hoping to “break into green energy.� …

Catch the Wind signs sales agreement with BP Wind Energy

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Excerpt: Catch the Wind Ltd. says it has sold two Vindicator laser wind sensors to BP Wind Energy. After installing and testing the units, BP Wind Energy has agreed to purchase sizeable quantities of additional units. The wind sensors measure wind speed and direction some 200 M ahead of a turbine letting it …

Treasury Dept issues guidance regarding grant and “Begin construction” requirement

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Excerpt: Seattle-based law firm Stoel Rives LLC, specializing in environmental issues, provided the following comments on the additional guidance that qualifies the term “begin construction.” The company says the clarification is necessary because, “There has been a great deal of confusion and discussi …

Longest air cargo ever carried makes landing

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Excerpt: A record-breaking journey has ended safely. The largest airplane in the world, a 175-ton Russian cargo carrier (the Antonov 225), transported two prototype wind turbine blades from China to Denmark. The 42-m GloBlades, headed for LM Wind Power’s technology center in Lunderskov, are the longest car …