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By Sam Heim, Media Specialist, Petzl The wind technician career is projected to have the highest job growth rate in the United States for the next eight years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the projected percent change in employment from 2019 to 2029 for wind techs is 61%; the average job growth rate…

By Andras Kaldos, Product Engineering Group Manager, Key Industries, James Walker In recent years wind turbines have made significant increases in size as operators and OEMs seek to optimize the costs of power generation by building fewer larger and more efficient turbines. Whilst these will produce substantially more energy than they take to manufacture, install…

By Gareth Brown, CEO, Clir Renewables In February 2021, Texas faced a disastrous power failure as a result of an unexpectedly severe winter storm. Natural gas wells froze, transmission substations went offline, and the grid operator was forced to initiate rolling blackouts, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power for days. This extreme cold combined…

By Georgena Terry, Clean Energy States Alliance Energy equity has become an increasing priority at both the national and state levels. As offshore wind moves into a major development phase, ensuring that it advances energy equity and environmental justice is essential. For the federal government, President Joe Biden elevated the importance of an “equitable, clean…

By Sam Salem and Peter Nyegaard Jensen, Wind Cluster The February 2021 freeze event in Texas attracted attention to wind turbine behavior in cold weather. Wind generation fell short of expected output but was not the main driver of the extensive power outages experienced across the state. Wind turbines have proved to generate power successfully…

By Adam Nevin, Innovation Lead, Trelleborg Over the last few years, renewable energy has become more prominent and features in almost every governmental policy across the globe, with China most recently declaring an ambitious goal to become carbon neutral by 2060. The importance of renewable energy sources is exemplified by the fact that green investment…

Windpower Engineering & Development is a growing wind-power resource targeting professionals involved in all aspects of a wind farm’s lifecycle, including developers, engineers, technicians, manufacturers and researchers that work to site, build, maintain, repair and optimize wind-related components, software and projects. The goal at Windpower Engineering & Development is to educate and expand the knowledge…

By Duncan Higham, VP Global Strategy, Remote Medical International As the world continues to grapple with a global pandemic, companies with offshore wind operations are looking at ways to improve processes while reducing costs. A major part of this is maintaining the health and safety of offshore and remote employees. And while every organization has health and…

By Scott Duffin, director of client drone strategy and business development, Skyward, a Verizon Company Drones can come in handy for wind O&M technicians, as long as their use is accepted across all levels of the company. In order for wind techs to gain a helping hand from drones, they should avoid these common pitfalls…

By Scott Duffin, director of client drone strategy and business development, Skyward, a Verizon Company In the aftermath of a natural disaster, drones can be critical tools for first responders and recovery workers. As an eye in the sky, drones provide situational awareness that helps response teams target critical locations even when roads are blocked…

By Angela Krcmar, Global Sales Manager, Wind, Firetrace International Fire is one of the most expensive losses for any wind farm owner and operator to manage. Beyond the potential devastation of the turbine, fires pose a serious hazard to human life and the environment. As such, the wind industry is already taking action to prevent…

By Alan Chivers, chairman, The Renewables Consulting Group The Global Wind Organisation (GWO) was formed in 2012 by major developers, operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) with the intent to deliver uniform training designed specifically for the wind industry. In a short period of time, GWO training has become the gold standard and is typically…

By Marla Keene, technology writer, AX Control U.S. adoption of offshore wind technology has been slow compared to European counterparts. Europe’s first offshore wind installation, Denmark’s Vindeby, came online in 1991 with a capacity of 4.9 MW. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has estimated that the winds off U.S. coasts could generate four-times the…

By Maxime Toulotte, head of technical marketing, Nexans Subsea and Land Systems business group (SLS) Offshore wind is enjoying a boom time, contributing more and more to the global energy transition with smarter operations and more powerful wind turbines. Europe is still the largest market, accounting for nearly 80% of global offshore wind capacity, while…

By Eduardo Gimenez, CEO; Len Kaster, PE, CFPE, technical sales support; Madeline Hanley, technical marketing and sales; ALA Industries The United States is a leader in wind energy — wind generates 7% of the electricity Americans use. But it’s still behind the Europe Union, which receives 12% of its electricity generation from wind turbines. The…

Welcome to the 2021 Renewable Energy Handbook At times this past year felt like an eternity, but we bet a few expert renewable energy stories slipped past you in 2020. This handbook reviews what has been trending in both the solar and wind industries in our sister publications Solar Power World and Windpower Engineering &…

The Dutch firm Ventolines has signed on as offshore wind expertise partner for Mayflower Wind, a huge offshore wind project starting 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and has opened its first permanent U.S. office in Boston. Windpower Engineering & Development connected with Thibaut de Groen, Ventolines’ director of contracting and construction, and Lorry…

By Gaurav Gupta, Chief Business Officer, L&T Technology Services We are living through a phase of continuous change and zeitgeist. We may not notice, but the natural sources of power are all around us, shaping the energy sector, and indeed our lives and our future. The transition to renewable energy has already begun, but its…

By David Clark, CMS Wind About 50% of drivetrain failures are in the generator, and they are predictable by months with the right detection. The failures are grouped into three specific categories: bearing-related, electrical-related and misalignments. We’ve already discussed electrical fluting and misalignments, so now let’s talk about bearing failures. How specific is vibration? How early…

By David Clark, CMS Wind About 50% of drivetrain failures are in the generator, and they are predictable by months with the right detection. The failures are grouped into three specific categories: bearing-related, electrical-related and misalignments. We’ve already discussed electrical fluting, and now we’ll describe misalignments. Misalignment between the gearbox output (or high-speed shaft) and the…