In this episode of the Wind Spotlight podcast from Windpower Engineering & Development, we are joined by Brian Warmerdam, product manager at RAD Torque Systems, to discuss the company’s latest offering in torque wrenches. RAD Torque is a Canadian Manufacturer producing battery-powered torque wrenches used in a range of industries, including mining, aerospace, and, of…
Developers are testing utility-scale wind in microgrid markets
Microgrids fit multiple classifications of energy sources independent from or in addition to grid-tied energy providers. They are independent electrical grids that can either run on energy generated from non-grid-tied sources like wind turbines, solar panels or diesel generators; or microgrids act as a backup power solution in the event of a grid outage. Microgrids…
US Wind supports Maryland’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2040
U.S. Wind, a Baltimore-based wind company, welcomes Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s administration’s decision to allow the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) to take effect, while also pursuing the goal of achieving 100% of clean energy electricity by 2040 for the state. “Offshore wind is one of the few clean, renewable energy sources that must provide…
Sulzer Schmid and WKA Blade Service inspecting 1,250 Vestas wind turbines by July
Sulzer Schmid, a Swiss company pioneering UAV technology for rotor blade inspections, and WKA, the leading blade inspection and repair service provider, have been enlisted by Vestas to conduct a massive and challenging drone-based blade inspection campaign in Scandinavia, on a staggering 1,250 wind turbines in less than 12 weeks. For this important campaign, time…
Siemens Gamesa reaches 1 GW of SG 4.5-145 turbines sold
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has been awarded another order by EDF Renewables to supply 30 SG 4.5-145 and 36 SG 2.7-129 wind turbines for the 232-MW Milligan wind project, located in Milligan County, Nebraska. This project marks 1 GW of SG 4.5-145 wind turbines sold worldwide. The contract also includes a service and maintenance agreement…
AWEA announces renewables exhibition CLEANPOWER, slated for 2020
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced the creation of CLEANPOWER, a new exhibition hub that will bring together the utility-scale wind power, solar power, and energy storage industries when it launches in Denver next May. AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan broke the news during WINDPOWER 2019’s Welcome General Session. “The future of American energy is…
AWEA throws support behind Illinois’ Path to 100 Act
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is supporting Illinois House Bill 2966/Senate Bill 1781, legislation that would fix Illinois’ renewable energy funding cliff and put the state back on track to reach its statutory requirement of 25% renewable energy by 2025. The Illinois General Assembly is considering a wide range of energy proposals this year,…
IPS introduces wind-turbine generator insulation system
Integrated Power Systems (IPS), a North American company that custom engineers electric motor and generator solutions, has introduced WindGuard, its first insulation system designed specifically for wind-turbine generators. WindGuard has the dielectric and mechanical strength to prevent issues cause premature generator failures, including electrical, mechanical, thermal and environmental stresses. IPS engineers addressed specific failure modes…
Siemens Gamesa handling O&M of 218 MW of Pattern Energy wind power
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announces it has signed a four-year O&M agreement with Pattern Energy for its 218-MW Panhandle Wind 1 facility, consisting of 118 units of 1.85-87 MW GE wind turbines. The company will begin servicing the turbines later this year in Carson County, Texas. “Siemens Gamesa is a strong service provider and we…
ONYX InSight unveils CMS upgrade to cut costs on unplanned O&M
Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) have radically changed the return on investment model for turbine condition monitoring in the United States, helping wind farm owners make significant OPEX savings. By cutting the cost of condition-monitoring systems (CMS), low-cost MEMS sensors have helped wind farm owners to improve operational planning, cut unscheduled maintenance, and make OPEX savings…
Invenergy transfers Ekola and TB Flats wind projects to PacifiCorp
Invenergy announced the transfer of the Ekola Flats and TB Flats wind projects in Carbon County, Wyoming, to PacifiCorp. Invenergy, a privately-held developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, developed the 250-MW Ekola Flats and 500-MW TB Flats wind energy projects for PacifiCorp in support of their Energy Vision 2020 initiative. Construction of both projects,…
Newly developed software offers untapped efficiencies for wind industry
The basis of advancing machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) is feeding the cognitive program data. Through the information it consumes, an AI parses inputs and provides more accurate data and guidance to the end user. In a 2018 digital trends survey, approximately 15% of enterprises used AI, and a third of respondents planned to…
The Three T’s of dropped-object prevention
Wind-turbine technicians face the challenging task of climbing a couple of hundred feet or more up-tower and safely transporting the plethora of tools required for working atop their towering workplace. This is typically done with proper tethering, ensuring tools are securely fastened to a tech’s body while climbing — or if the wind speeds or…
Iron Mountain launches data center emissions-tracking program
Iron Mountain, an information management services provider, launched a new data center renewable energy reporting solution called Green Power Pass (GPP). GPP is an industry-endorsed, fully-transparent solution for companies seeking to report greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions associated with the green power they consume. It covers power consumed at every Iron Mountain data center across…
A look beyond offshore wind: What to pay attention to this year
Offshore wind has dominated the industry news cycle, and will likely maintain its position as a prominent development in renewables. But the aquatic turbine towers shouldn’t overshadow a number of other noteworthy federal and technological developments related to wind that are worth looking into. Deploying drones Unmanned aerial vehicles have streamlined turbine blade inspections by…
K2 Management rounds up 23 contract wins in North America
K2 Management, sustainable energy consultancy, rounded up 2018 with its most successful quarter in North America since its inception in 2010, signing 23 orders in Q4 of last year. These new orders, spanning offshore wind, onshore wind and solar technologies, will support projects with an expected total installed capacity of 9 GW if built out.…
Colorado energy cooperative’s PPA sparks development of a 100-MW wind farm
Holy Cross Energy (HCE), a nonprofit rural electric cooperative based in Western Colorado, announced a renewable energy swap agreement with Colorado wholesale energy company Guzman Energy. This two-way power purchase agreement (PPA) will allow the development of a new 100-MW wind farm to serve HCE’s members. Once the new wind resources enter service in 2021,…
ONYX Insight finds CMS providers may restrict access to wind-turbine data
ONYX Insight, a predictive maintenance provider, has authored the first in a series of white papers that found of the top CMS hardware providers, only one gives turbine owners and operators full access to CMS Data; and seven give no access to data at all, limiting the maintenance and servicing options of turbine owners. The…
Apex Clean Energy sells 202-MW Sugar Creek Wind project
Apex Clean Energy announced the sale of Sugar Creek Wind to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. The advanced-stage 202-MW project is located in Logan County in central Illinois. This fall, Apex secured a long-term contract with the Illinois Power Agency to provide renewable energy certificates to utilities in the state. “Sugar…
LG Electronics enrolls five facilities in Purely Green sustainability program
RPD Energy arranged the supply of wind energy and concurrent Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for five LG Electronics USA facilities in Texas, Illinois and New Jersey. The LG facilities are served under the Purely Green affinity program partnership launched this year by RPD Energy, Intuit, Hudson Energy (the commercial division of Just Energy) and EDP…