Two cranes are better than one

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Excerpt: The Port of Vancouver, Washington boasts two of the largest harbor cranes in North America. Each has a 140-metric ton capacity. The size allows reaching across a wide ship to unload heavy cargo. A 100-ton crane could have trouble unloading a Panamax-sized (wide) vessel because it cannot reach ac …

Challenges in moving huge and heavy components

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Excerpt: In an ideal world, logistics directors would schedule a train to deliver tower sections, nacelles, and blades to a storage area within a few miles of their wind farm. Trucks would complete the delivery. But the ideal quickly runs off the rails because a few rail tunnels are too narrow for nacelles, …

Updated standard for offshore wind turbine structures

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Excerpt: The standard, Design of Offshore Wind Turbine Structures (DNV-OS-J101), provides principles, technical requirements and guidance for design, construction and in-service inspection of offshore wind turbine structures. After its launch in 2004 it has been widely used in the offshore wind industry. …

Texas HVDC line to reach Louisiana and Mississippi

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Excerpt: Pattern Energy Group LP says it has reached a milestone in development of its Southern Cross transmission project in an agreement with several Texas utilities and making two applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "Pattern is making steady progress on the development of its S …

Windpower helped tame the Texas heat of 2011

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Excerpt: by Denise Bode, CEO,  American Wind Energy Association. In contrast to the comments on some ill intentioned blogs, ERCOT (Electricity Reliability Council of Texas) CEO Trip Doggett credited wind power with a critical contribution during the summer power emergency in Texas. He did the same af …

Texas offshore projects to share $43 million

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Excerpt: The Department of Energy recently announced $900,000 in funding for programs in Austin and College Station, as part of 41 projects across 20 states. The University of Texas is getting $500,000 to evaluate the potential effects of offshore wind energy facilities on electronic equipment, such as airbo …

Helical Robotics can help service turbines

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Excerpt: Do you have an 18th century windmill? Then why use 18th century servicing? This is the thinking of Bruce and Keith Schlee who see putting workers in dangerous positions for servicing as an “old-fashioned” method. Instead, the brothers founded Helical Robotics LLC (helicalrobotics.com), which …

Indiana gets a blade-mold company, maybe blade manufacturing

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Excerpt: Indiana officials joined those from GBT USA to launch a mold, tooling, and prototyping manufacturing facility for wind-rotor blades in Evansville, Indiana. GBT USA, the North American subsidiary of Global Blade Technology, focuses on design and production of custom wind rotor blades. The Neth …

Duke Energy to build second Pennsylvania wind farm

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Excerpt: Duke Energy will build a new wind farm in north-central Pennsylvania and sell all of the renewable electricity it generates to Delaware Municipal Electric Corp. (DEMEC) under a 25-year agreement. Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, will build, own and operate the 6 …

European experience valuable to U.S. offshore developers

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Excerpt: As players in the US offshore wind industry work to complete the nation’s first commercial offshore wind project, a look at European development suggests one possible path for American offshore wind. A few observers point to the European programs as a model for U.S. development. European experienc …