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…
Navigating challenges and charting growth for the U.S. offshore wind market
As the United States’ energy transition rides the high of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Vineyard Wind 1 project, set to be the first gigawatt-scale offshore wind farm, marks the beginning of a new era for renewable energy in the country. With a 15-GW pipeline of numerous other projects in pre-construction and procurement stages, including…
Floating offshore wind power could be the key to reaching decarbonization targets
The energy transition is driving the development of offshore wind power around the world to provide communities with reliable clean power and prevent harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from being released into the atmosphere. In the United States, the development of offshore wind projects is more advanced on the East Coast due to the shallower…
Navigating risks in the U.S. offshore wind industry: Insights into insurance and extreme weather challenges
In 2023, the offshore wind insurance market will support over 5 GW of offshore wind construction along the U.S. East Coast. Considering the existing development pipeline in the United States, this number is expected to grow to approximately 50 GW within 10 years. While considered an emerging sector in North America by many, the reality…
A case for regional collaboration among states in the new offshore wind economy
In 2022, U.S. state governments increased their collective procurements of offshore wind power to over 8,100 MW. While these collective procurement targets have the potential to transform electricity generation in the United States, states have so far come to these targets and approached offshore wind development more generally, on an individual basis. To fully realize…
Managing the storm of risk in today’s wind market
Wind power operators face a unique set of risks that can be effectively managed to protect wind farm assets and ensure the viability of the operation. Whether facing required upgrades to an aging equipment fleet or incorporating new technology into the operation, wind operators can plan for associated risks with the support of healthy, vetted…
A new generation of medium voltage wind converters holds the key to sustainable wind power
Countries across the globe have embraced wind power, recognizing its potential to reduce carbon emissions and foster sustainable development. China, the United States and Germany have all made substantial investments in wind power, while the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands are all pioneering offshore wind projects, demonstrating the immense possibilities of this clean energy…
Tips for wind gearbox inspections using a borescope
The global shift to renewable energy and expanded use of wind power has significantly increased the number of wind turbines, both onshore and offshore. The demand for wind turbine maintenance is also increasing, especially for critical components such as gearboxes. Borescope inspections of gearboxes are a cost-effective way to shorten the downtime of wind turbines…
Three questions with the California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission (CEC) began an international visitor program more than 30 years ago, and it’s one of the state’s oldest international programs. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEC welcomed 71 delegations from five continents that were visiting to learn about their policies, programs and services. Clean Energy States Alliance research associate…
A conversation on building Maryland’s offshore wind workforce
In the fall of 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce Awarded $22.9 million to the Maryland Department of Labor from its Good Jobs Challenge grant program. The money is intended to catalyze the development of Maryland’s emerging offshore wind workforce and industry, including the existing Maryland Works for Wind (MWW) program. To learn more about the state…
Wind Spotlight: Services powered by analytics from ZF Wind Power
ZF is a global technology company supplying gear systems for vehicles and industrial technology. ZF Wind Power designs modular gearbox platforms and produces complete powertrains for wind turbines. Sivakumar Jayapal, Chief Service Officer at ZF Wind Power, talks with Windpower Engineering & Development about its new interactive service Thrive. Below is an excerpt of ZF’s…
Time for offshore wind policy makers to expand their view on “keeping it local”
By Sloan Freeman, Director of Hydrospatial Solutions at Geodynamics, an NV5 company In April 2023, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources (POWER) Act, enacting the state’s new 8.5-GW offshore wind target while highlighting the local workforce development and domestic supply chain features of the bill. This was just the latest…
US offshore wind project pipeline exceeds 51 GW
The American Clean Power Association (ACP) released a report on the U.S. offshore wind market, revealing a rapidly growing pipeline of projects across 32 leases totaling 51,377 MW of expected capacity – enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 20 million homes. Additionally, offshore wind project development, construction and operations are expected to…
May 2023 Issue: Reducing the cost of cranes in O&M
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…
Wind Spotlight: Wind 4.0 and the latest industrial revolution
The progress of industry pushes ever forward, and those technological breakthroughs are marked by named eras. Globally, manufacturers believe they’re currently experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, dubbed Industry 4.0. The wind industry is also participating, and Valery Godinez, VP of engineering and product development at MISTRAS Group, is here to discuss what that means exactly.…
Emerging trend: Wind turbines paired with energy storage
By Ivan Mednikov and Ivor Shaw, Stantec With recent pro-renewables legislation passing in both the United States and Canada that encourage energy storage adoption, the North American wind industry enters a new era. This intermittent energy resource can now more easily be supplemented by energy storage to provide a dispatchable electricity solution. This makes wind…
What can the U.S. offshore wind market learn from Europe?
By Andy Malpas, U.S. Offshore Wind Market Director, Kent The United States is in the midst of a clean energy revolution with offshore wind emerging as a pivotal source of renewable power. With an abundance of coastal winds, the United States could soon stand at the forefront of offshore wind production. The global offshore wind…
Case study: Yaw misalignment savings from simple SCADA data
Case study by Bitbloom This case study looks at getting more from existing turbine operation data. Cubico Sustainable Investments is one of the world’s largest privately-owned renewable energy companies with a portfolio of more than 6 GW across 12 countries. The company, which is backed by the resources of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments,…
AI: Wind energy’s paragon and net-zero’s protagonist
By Rob Budny, VP of Renewables, SparkCognition The Russian invasion of Ukraine exposed the starkest challenges of fossil fuel dependence on a global level. The volatility of record-high power and fuel prices rocked economies and consumers while global CO2 emissions soared to a historic high and put the goals of the Paris Agreement at risk.…
February 2023 Issue: We Can Better Maximize the Potential of Wind Portfolios
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…