2011 wind energy performance map

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Excerpt: A recent map of wind performance throughout 2011 shows that wind speeds were above their season averages for most of the U.S. The map, from 3TIER, shows departures from long-term mean wind speeds that range from -20% to +20% and provides an indication of how wind projects should have performed …

Monitoring transformers key to predictive maintenance

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Excerpt: Mike Dickinson, Pacific Coast Transformers, www.pacificcresttransformers.com Transformers serve as a hub for collection and distribution of energy changing the voltage level at different locations of the grid. They are a key component of the Smart Grid, loosely defined as an automated, widely dis …

Tracking where and when lightning strikes

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Excerpt: The developer of a global lightning detection network will provide access to its Global Lightning Dataset GLD360, which holds lightning data with peak current estimates, greater location accuracy, and improved polarity classification than previously available. The enhancements in data quality wi …

New lab to help utilities ‘see’ grid of the future

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Excerpt: This article comes from NREL With the simple flick of a light switch, you connect to "the machine," the North American electric grid. It’s the world's most complex transmission and distribution system — also is referred to as the world's largest machine. That same machine has run reliably o …

Software lets many programs share data, work together

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Excerpt: The latest release of Isight provides designers, engineers, and researchers with an open system for integrating design and simulation models—created with various CAD, CAE, and other software applications—to automate the execution of hundreds or thousands of simulations.  The software lets u …

Software assists quieting noisy turbine

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Excerpt: By: Brett A. Marmo and Barry J. Carruthers Xi Engineering Consultants Ltd. Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.  Wind turbines occasionally get a bad rap for noise. At times, it’s not the turbine’s fault but rather an internal problem that amplifies the noise. For instance, a recent set of …

A strong quarter for wind energy

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Excerpt:   During the second quarter of 2011, nearly all of the contiguous United States experienced normal to above-normal wind speeds compared to the long-term average for the same quarter. The greatest deviations occurred throughout the Rocky Mountains and southern Great Plains (over 25% above …

Improving Wind Turbine Design Through Advanced Simulation Techniques

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Excerpt: Advancements in simulation technology continue to provide benefits to engineers in the field of wind power engineering. Windpower engineers now have the ability to simulate all aspects of the wind turbine; from detailed structural models of the blades that determine stresses and strains, to highly a …

Wind speeds are up across the U.S. in Q2 2011

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Excerpt: A renewable energy risk analysis released a wind performance map for the second quarter of 2011. The map illustrates wind speeds above seasonal averages for most of the continental U.S. 3TIER’s second quarter map indicates departures from long-term mean wind speeds that range from -20 to 20% a …

How Spanish nat-gas company forecasts for electrical market

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Excerpt: GAS NATURAL FENOSA uses MATLAB software products to develop models that let the company project capacity and demand and optimize generation of asset portfolios. In particular, the company develops optimization and forecasting models that use historical usage patterns, weather forecasts, production c …