U.K. research center to support offshore wind industry

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Excerpt:   The UK wind industry is planning large offshore wind farms, some at considerable distance from shore and in deeper water. Round 3 sites are from 13 to 195 km from shore compared with 12 km for the most distant existing offshore wind farms. There is an urgent need to ensure that offshor …

Army solicits for $7 billion in renewable-energy contracts

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Excerpt: This article comes from law firm Stoel Rives LLC (stoel.com) In February, 2012, the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center in Huntsville, Alabama issued a draft request for proposals (Solicitation No. W912DY-11-R-0036, the “Draft RFP”) titled “Large Scale Renewable Energy Production for F …

Mobilizing for offshore wind in Normandy

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Excerpt: GDF SUEZ Chairman and CEO Gérard Mestrallet, VINCI CEO Xavier Huillard, CDC Infrastructure CEO Jean Bensaïd and AREVA CEO Luc Oursel highlighted their energy, economic and social plan connected with the call for bids to site 3,000-MW of wind power off France’s coasts starting in 2015. AREVA, …

Remote sensor brings wind-condition data to wind farm operators

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Excerpt: A provider of wind measurement technology, software, and services, has announced a suite of wind farm operations services based on the company's Triton Sonic Wind Profiler and SkyServe Wind Data Service. Triton, a remote wind sensor, uses sodar (sound) to provide wind measurements across the tur …

Smart grid jail can create its own power

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Excerpt: Alameda County and Chevron Energy Solutions have developed a microgrid that enables the county's Santa Rita Jail to sustain power should its connection to the utility grid be interrupted. The $11.7 million project, known as a smart grid, will allow the jail to ensure it has a supply of reliable el …

73-m blades on this offshore baby

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Excerpt: LM Wind Power’s 73.5-m blades became the first of such size to be installed when Alstom inaugurated the largest offshore wind turbine in the world on March 19 at Carnet in the Loire-Atlantique region of France. The impressive composite structures have been developed specifically for Alstom’s …

Understanding costs for large wind-turbine drivetrains

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Excerpt: After identifying cost drivers for wind-turbine equipment, engineering teams and designers can focus their talents on controlling them. By:  Dr. John Coultate, R&D and Consultancy Dept. Leader, Romax Technology Ltd, UK, www.romaxtech.com Wind-turbine manufacturers offer a variety …

Shape-shifting blades promise more efficient turbines

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Excerpt: A set of three blades with active surfaces and sensors will allow writing controls that tailor blade shape to wind conditions, and ideally capture more energy than conventional designs. By:  Christian Fritz, Senior Product Manager for Advance Machine Control at National Instruments, www.Ni.co …

When lightning strikes

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Excerpt: Electric utilities, energy companies, and wind-farm operators will say that adverse weather can cost their operations a significant amount when it affects their infrastructure. Lightning is one weather phenomena that challenges wind-farm operations. Fortunately, recent products and software allow op …

High-res resource maps for Latin America

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Excerpt: Renewable energy consulting and information services company AWS Truepower has released high-resolution wind maps and data for the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and South America. Wind resource averages and characteristics are available through annual subscriptions to AWS Truepower’s web-b …