Downwind: Innovations in offshore wind transportation

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Excerpt: Offshore wind development is taking off around the world. The wind projects, however, pose logistic challenges that call for solutions from new ideas. For example, the UK has opened new areas for offshore wind development. However, these locations are farther from shore and in rougher water than …

Wind Innovators 2012: William Lowndes III and William (Willy) Lowndes IV, Tindall Corporation

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Excerpt: After graduating from The Citadel in the early 60s, William Lowndes III aimed to satisfy his entrepreneurial drive by acquiring Tindall Concrete Pipe Co. It came with an acre of land, a two-bag-concrete mixer, and infinite possibilities for the future. Now the Spartanburg South Carolina-based Tindal …

Wind Innovator 2012: Travis Smith, Senior Member of IEEE

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Excerpt: Travis Smith didn’t start out in the wind energy sector. But with more than 20 years of experience as an engineer and consultant, he has since become the “wind guy” in a small, often-overlooked community— the protection engineers who ensure the stability of the electrical grid. Now a staff e …

Wind Innovator 2012: Fermin Catalán, Chief Engineer of the G11X offshore turbine

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Excerpt: Pamplona, Spain is a good place to grow up and get hooked on engineering and renewable energy. The region has lots of renewable-energy companies, turbine manufacturers, and their suppliers, says Gamesa’s Fermin Catalán. He’s Chief Engineer for the company’s new G11X offshore turbine, a 5-MW p …

GE-Tamoin consortium signs wind turbine service agreement with Iberdrola

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Excerpt: A consortium including GE and Spanish energy services company Tamoin Energías Renovables signed the largest single GE wind turbine maintenance agreement in Europe with Iberdrola Renovables S.A. of Madrid. The contract with Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest wind energy companies, covers servic …

Developing wind projects in complex terrain using wind software

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Excerpt: The emergence of software and science can turn even complex terrain into productive wind farms. As potential sites with simple, flat terrain are developed, more wind projects are built in or near forests and complex terrain. These sites—associated with harsh flow conditions—are likely t …

Texas Wind holds statewide conferences in 2012

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Excerpt: “Texas Wind 2012” will bring together wind energy leaders in the heart of one of the world’s leading wind energy marketplaces for seminars, expo, and powerful business networking. Texas Wind 2012 convenes in San Antonio on Tuesday-Wednesday, July 31-Aug. 1, and is sponsored by the Texas Wind E …

Canada a hot wind market for U.S. OEM

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Excerpt: Advanced technology wind turbines have been selected to power nine new wind projects in Ontario, Canada, adding about 650 MW of clean energy to the province’s electricity grid. When the projects are fully built out by 2015, GE wind turbines will be delivering about 1,200 MW of wind energy in t …

Lighter materials hold key to efficient transportation

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Excerpt: Transportation will choose emerging structural materials to save fuel, as energy use rises 53% from 2008 levels to 765 quadrillion BTUs in 2035, says Lux Research. While carbon fiber and nanomaterials tend to gain all the hype, other advanced structural materials such as magnesium and advanced high …

Poland adds 55 MW more

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Excerpt: Turbine manufacturer Nordex has obtained a follow-up order in Poland or the delivery and installation of turbines for a wind farm for the Polish subsidiary of E.ON Climate & Renewables. Until 2013, the manufacturer will be delivering a total of 22 large N90/2500 turbines for the projects “ …