Webinar series: Reducing wind-turbine design time with simulations

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: With increasing demand for alternate energy, manufacturers of large commercial and smaller residential wind turbines feel demand for greater performance. In this webinar series, hosted by FEA developer MSC.Software, attendees will learn from industry experts how simulation-driven developments are us …

Vertical axis turbine works for small business

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Not all wind turbines are megawatt units. Two designs from HelixWind, San Diego, are said to work in low-wind speeds common around residential areas and small commercial businesses. The developer says its Savonius-turbine design (a vertical axis windmill) catches wind from all directions creatin …

Blade manufacturing gets smart

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: England based Solent Composite Systems says its value proposition for the U.S. wind industry spans from turbine blade design, to molds, prototype development, and manufacturing technology transfer, along with training for new start-up blade plants. The company offers wind-turbine manufacturers with …

Novel design puts two turbines on one axis

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: A small wind generator uses a long shaft with two different turbines on either side of a generator to produce more power than a single turbine. The developer, Shanghai-based Forevoo, says the design starts generating power in only 1.5 m/s wind speed and it works in a wider range of wind speeds than …

Storage for Excess Windpower

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: One nagging problem with electrical power is that excess quantities of it generated during low demand periods can’t be stored without huge and costly batteries. But electricity can be stored indirectly through pumped hydro storage and compressed air. The Ireland based engineering firm Gaele …

Laser inspection boosts blade production

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Fiberglass and epoxy-based composites have replaced aluminum and steel as primary materials in the large blades of recent wind turbines. Production of large blades, some of which reach over 50m, also requires increased precision. To improve accuracy and production rates, Carter Products, Grand …

New player enters U.S. wind-energy market

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: Relight, an Italian company in renewable energy, is entering the U.S. market to invest in the wind and photovoltaic sector. Relight U.S., New York City, has set a target to reach at least 2,000 MW installed capacity in wind power in the U.S. in five years, mainly in the south-west and central states …

Gearbox, generator, and controls in one package

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, Erie, Pa, says the company has launched a wind generator and control systems division to serve wind turbine owners around the globe. The new company will immediately offer doubly-fed induction and permanent magnet generators in the 2 to 6 MW …

ABB wins $20 million order for voltage compensators

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: ABB, a power and automation technology group, has won an order worth about $20 million from Oncor, Dallas, TX, to supply a Static VAr Compensator (SVC) unit to support the transmission grid in North Texas. SVC devices provide fast-acting reactive power compensation in high-voltage networks, whi …

Roof-top turbines work in slower wind

Archived; click post to view.
Excerpt: The roof tops of office building seem a good place for wind turbines but few are mounted there because of weight and complexity. Green Energy Technologies LLC in Akron, Ohio, may have a solution in the WindCube. It’s a 60 kW rooftop wind turbine for on-site power generation. The turbine’s sh …