Report: The state of O&M operations thru 2020.

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: This executive summary come from GlobalData, globaldata.com. The full report is available from several online sources for $3,995. A 191-page research report is said to provide an understanding of the technology, key drivers and challenges in the global wind power market. It also provides his …

Lifting 370 ton in 10 minutes

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: A recent hydraulic lifting yoke from Danish company Fyns Kran Udstyr (FKU) has been tested in the world’s largest offshore wind farm, London Array. The company says the yoke makes handing offshore turbine foundations faster, cheaper and more secure. Typically, it can take up to an hour to p …

OEM acquires two U.S. wind projects

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Officials with Volkswind USA and Goldwind USA says that Chicago-based Goldwind USA has acquired two, 10-MW wind farms, referred to as the Musselshell Project, in Shawmut, Montana. Volkswind has obtained the necessary permits for construction and secured power purchase and interconnection agreeme …

Sodar measures wind speeds up to 700m up

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: The 2000 series SoDARs are intended as high-altitude sensors. These use three parabolic dishes in three separate enclosures. The 2000 series can operate in lower power consumption mode, pulsing each antenna at different time intervals. Or, they can be configured to sample all three beams simulta …

Welding and Fabricating 101

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Although the U.S. wind energy industry seems forever changing, one of its constant goals is to lower costs by mounting turbines in windier areas, which means offshore and higher up. To take advantage of the stronger and steadier winds in both places, tower manufacturers are looking for ways to reduc …

MISO delivers $billions in benefits to region

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: The Midwest Independent Service Operator says its annual Value Proposition study shows it provided between $2.2 and $2.7 billion in quantitative benefits for the region in 2011. The regional transmission organization provides the benefits through its ongoing grid reliability and efficiency measu …

Cost of wind power close to $0.03/kWh with incentive

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Briefing materials are available to summarize a recent analysis of onshore wind energy cost trends. The analysis was conducted jointly by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), titled: “Recent Developments in the Levelized Cost of …

Wind energy performance map for Europe

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: A recent map illustrates that for 2011, wind speeds were 5-10% above normal in northern Europe and up to 10% below normal in southern Europe. The data, collected by renewable energy assessment and forecasting company 3TIER,  shows departures from long-term mean wind speed with above normal area …

Site Assessment 101

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: A first step in the development of a wind farm is to identify land with sufficient wind to support a commercial project. This calls for a series of studies, one of which is the wind-study assessment that looks at historical wind data. There may be a meteorological or met tower in the area that has a …

Weather operations now include Alberta

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: MDA EarthSat Weather says its current wind-generation forecast product has now been expanded to include AESO (Alberta). Already providing accurate and reliable hourly forecasts for ERCOT, MISO, and BPA, PJM, CAISO and IESO, this web-based system uses state-of-the-art forecast methods to produce …