As wind farm owners and operators look to increase efficiency and reduce costs, unplanned outages can still put a halt on plans. Business Interruption (BI) insurance is one means of risk mitigation. A comprehensive policy offers financial protection in the event of unanticipated downtime. However, project owners should still consider self-insured mitigation options. Sometimes owners…
What PTC rules define “when construction” begins?
Rarely, if ever, has there been a time in the United States when financing wind energy was not challenging. Currently, one of the biggest issues in wind financing is a lack of clarity in new federal income tax rules for the production tax credit (PTC). Specifically, there is confusion with tax issues surrounding details of…
What are the fire hazards and solutions in a wind turbine?
While few older installed wind turbines have fire detection and suppression, there is a clear trend toward including fire suppression in newer units. Fire incidents, the increasing value of the average turbine, safety issues, environmental impact and local authority requirements are all driving the inclusion of fire suppression systems on wind turbines. International awareness of…
Nacelles | How are they manufactured?
Manufacturing today’s wind turbine can involve millions of dollars and hundreds of people. To better understand what comes from the years of research and development to the final days of production, let’s tour a modern turbine production facility and see how nacelles are made. The nacelle is the part of the turbine that houses the…
Algorithms simplify and predict blade maintenance
The associated cost of maintaining and repairing blades is an issue for wind-farm operators, and so far no remote inspection method has offered a viable solution. The best answer could lie in sophisticated algorithms using vibration measurements. Dmitri Tcherniak / PhD, Research Engineer Jens J. Hansen / Global Key Account Manager/ Brüel & Kjær Since…
Increasing wind turbine efficiency with vortex generators
Santhosh Chandrabalan / Technical Business Development Leader / 3M / www.3M.com The design of wind-turbine blades cannot be exclusively aimed at maximizing aerodynamics. The practicalities of manufacturing, transporting, and installing the blades, as well as other limitations, require tradeoffs in aerodynamic efficiency. These tradeoffs equate to a loss in Annual Energy Production (AEP) and can…
Siemens receives major order for 300-MW wind project in Oklahoma
Siemens has been awarded an order from Apex Clean Energy to supply, support installation and provide long-term service for 130 wind turbines for the 299-MW Kay Wind project to be located in Kay County, Oklahoma. Installation of the wind turbines is scheduled to begin this year, with the start of operations expected for the fourth…
The value of a virtual SCADA infrastructure
Heath Pratt / Manager of SCADA Services / Upwind Solutions / www.upwindsolutions.com A wind farm typically has several OEM servers operating as a real-time SCADA, database, and remote-access servers. These take up substantial space and require a lot of manpower to ensure peak performance. Some servers at aging wind farms may be close to or…
Siemens signs long-term service extension for Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm in North Wales
Siemens has signed a long-term agreement with Rhyl Flats Wind Farm Ltd., 50.1% owned by RWE AG, to continue providing service and maintenance at the Rhyl Flats wind farm off the coast of North Wales for the next 15 years. Siemens has been providing service and maintenance for the 25 SWT-3.6-107 turbines at Rhyl Flats…
ACCIONA Windpower signs a new 195 MW contract in Brazil, tops 1,000 MW of Brazil sales for AW3000 turbine
ACCIONA Windpower, the ACCIONA Group subsidiary dedicated to the design, manufacture and sale of wind turbines, has reached agreement with Atlantic Energias Renováveis and the British private equity firm Actis to supply 195 megawatts (MW) –65 3-MW turbines– for a wind power complex located in the State of Piauí (northeast Brazil). The project, developed through…
A new school of leadership
For many years, leadership maintained an idiosyncratic or dictator style. With this, a boss would give his team instructions and solely decide the best method of execution. This left little room for creativity and could have created a hostile work environment. However, in this fast-paced era of technology, things change rapidly. At last year’s Women…
New AC grid access solution from Siemens is lighter, faster, cheaper
Siemens has launched a new alternating-current (AC) grid access solution at EWEA Offshore conference in Copenhagen for connecting near-shore wind power plants to the grid. It replaces the conventional AC transformer platforms. The new solution consists of an offshore transformer module (OTM) attached directly to a wind turbine, and acts as a distributed transmission asset.…
UAE Wind Atlas informs Middle Eastern wind development
Vaisala has partnered with the Masdar Institute to develop the UAE Wind Atlas – the first publicly available wind resource database in the Middle East. Launched at the World Future Energy Summit, this highly significant investment and infrastructure planning tool is free to access through the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Global Atlas. As the…
DNV GL continues drive for risk and cost reduction in global wind industry via three new joint industry initiatives
DNV GL, a global energy advisory, testing and certification authority, recently announced three Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) which are aimed at developing recommended practices for the global wind industry to further develop industrial accepted design practices and methods, lower risks and reduce costs. JIP: “Coupled dynamic analysis of floating wind turbines” Floating wind provides an…
Dialight’s new Vigilant LED High Bay 480V Passive Power Supply offers superior durability in high-voltage environments
Dialight recently announced the debut of its new ultra-durable 480V Passive Power Supply, offering higher energy efficiency to outperform conventional switch mode power supply (SMPS) technology in high-voltage applications. The new 480V Passive Power Supply debuts on the 18,000-lumen package and will become the standard power supply used on every new Dialight fixture designed for…
Graco highlights precision continuous flow metering system for sealants and adhesives
Graco Advanced Fluid Dispense (AFD) announces that it offers a Precision Continuous Flow (PCF) metering dispense system for critical applications of single component sealant and adhesive materials. Engineered for automated applications, the Graco PCF metering system offers a reduced total cost of ownership when compared with competing technologies such as shot meters. The system dispenses…
STAUFF now offers PT-RF wireless hydraulic pressure testing
The STAUFF PT-RF wireless testing system uses RFID technology to transfer energy required for a measurement to the pressure transmitter via the antenna of the reading device. Just place the antenna about a half-inch from the tip of the pressure transmitter. A press of a button activates the pressure transmitter and pressure is read in…
Wind generation seasonal patterns vary across the U.S., says EIA
Wind -plant generation performance varies throughout the year as a result of highly seasonal wind patterns. Nationally, wind-plant performance tends to be highest during the spring and lowest during the mid- to late summer, while performance during the winter (November through February) is around the annual median. However, this pattern can vary considerably across regions,…
Siemens highlights cost-cutting innovations for offshore wind at EWEA Offshore 2015
The international wind energy conference EWEA Offshore 2015 in Copenhagen in early March will see Siemens, the market leader in offshore wind turbines and grid access, focusing on innovations supporting cutting the costs of offshore wind power. In addition to further developing the technology of its wind turbines, the company is advancing the efficiency of…
UK-based Roxtec targets wind-farm sector with innovative new cable seal
SAFETY seal manufacturer Roxtec has extended its range of cable seals with an innovative new seal specifically for underground power cables serving structures including electricity substations and wind turbines. Roxtec UK managing director Graham O’Hare said the new Roxtec UG sealing system is ideal for power cables entering foundations or basements because it protects against…