The 150-MW Merricourt Wind Project from EDF Renewables North America achieved commercial operation and has been turned over to Otter Tail Power Company, a subsidiary of Otter Tail Corporation. EDF Renewables developed and managed the construction process for Otter Tail Power under an asset purchase agreement and turnkey EPC agreement. “North Dakota’s abundant wind resource…

RWE Renewables has completed the successful tax equity financing of its 220-MW Cranell Onshore Wind Farm in Refugio County, Texas. The company secured tax equity financing with JPM Capital Corporation upon the Cranell project achieving commercial operation in the third quarter of 2020. “We are proud of our record of working hand-in-hand with the communities…

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…

Leeward Renewable Energy‘s Mountain Breeze Wind Farm in Weld County, Colorado has reached commercial operation and the company has closed the funding under its tax equity financing for the project. Leeward procured the wind turbine equipment from GE Renewable Energy, and Citi provided tax equity financing of $162.9 million. Mountain Breeze sells its output to…

Southern Power, a U.S. wholesale energy provider and a subsidiary of Southern Company, announced that the 136-MW Skookumchuck Wind Facility in Lewis and Thurston Counties, Washington, is now operational. This project, Southern Power’s 12th wind facility, is Southern Power’s first wind facility in the state and contributes to the company’s growing renewable fleet of clean…

Leeward Renewable Energy successfully completed the repowering and final financial close of its Sweetwater 3 Wind Farm in Nolan County, Texas. Leeward procured the wind turbine equipment from GE Renewable Energy, which also provided construction services and is providing operations and maintenance services for the project. GE Energy Financial Services and BHE Renewables provided tax…

A new material for wind blades that can be recycled could transform the wind industry, rendering renewable energy more sustainable than ever before while lowering costs in the process. The use of a thermoplastic resin has been validated at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Researchers demonstrated the feasibility of thermoplastic resin by manufacturing a…

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. Here we’ll discuss electrical fluting caused by an “ELF.” Stray electrical current is not a problem unique to wind.…

By Kurt Sassmannshausen, product development manager, System Seals While nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) has been a staple of wind-turbine seals for decades, advancements in polyurethane formulas, processing and seal design are quickly sidelining NBR’s place in the industry. The qualities proving most beneficial include abrasion resistance, fluid compatibility, ozone resistance, mechanical strength and the ability…

Specialty chemical company Croda International has announced a new partnership with Sentient Science for the recommended use of Croda’s Rewitec additives for wind turbine gearboxes and main bearings. In 2019, Croda acquired Rewitec GmbH and began to offer energy technologies customers nano- and micro-particle-based additives to increase the durability of machinery by lowering friction and…

By Dag Kirschke, Wind Energy Segment Owner, Exel Composites The demand for wind energy is increasing. It’s clean, cost effective and sustainable. As environmental and climate change concerns are influencing a greater need for renewable and sustainable energy, wind turbines are a substantial part of the solution — with over 340,000 wind turbines in the…

By Mark Meyer, Sales Manager, North America at SIFCO ASC It is no secret that the wind turbine market is growing. Seen by many as the long-term answer to the future of power generation, the sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 10% during the forecast period 2020-2025, according to Mordor…

By Matthieu Boquet, Head of Products & Offering, Leosphere, a Vaisala company Harnessing the wind is not exactly a perfect science. From taller and more efficient wind turbines to the development of wind farms in increasingly complex onshore and offshore environments, the wind energy sector is constantly evolving, and new techniques and technologies are becoming…

System Seals, a research-based seal manufacturer focused on optimizing main bearing performance, has created a new grease-pumping seal that dramatically reduces maintenance and costs for wind-turbine main bearings. The Vortex is an innovative corkscrew-style seal that uses the turning action of a rotary shaft to pump grease back inside the bearing as grease tries to…

GE Renewable Energy, COBOD and LafargeHolcim announced today that they will partner to co-develop wind turbines with optimized 3D-printed concrete bases, reaching record heights up to 200 meters. The three partners will undertake a multi-year collaboration to develop this innovative solution, which will increase renewable energy production while lowering the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE)…

Atlantic Wind Transfers of Quonset Point, Rhode Island has secured its second long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) contract in the United States to provide offshore marine support services for the Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines to be installed for the first offshore wind project in U.S. federal waters. Atlantic Wind Transfers…

By Julie Pereyra, Sales Engineer, Nord-Lock Group Depending on the application, bolt loosening can have profound consequences. One loose bolt can bring a whole production plant to a standstill and cost a company thousands. In other applications, loose bolts can pose a significant safety hazard. So, why do bolts loosen? Broadly speaking, there are two…

The new PEMA Flange Fitting Station aims to provide fast, safe and accurate flange fitting and welding to wind tower and tower foundation sections. Flange fitting is possible without flipping shells to a horizontal fitting table for flange fitting and then back to the original position for welding, which can be challenging for crane operators…

Turbine components and monopiles for Dominion Energy and Ørsted’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project are en route to North America, with the project team and vessel crews successfully navigating the worldwide coronavirus pandemic to keep the team safe and the project on schedule. The foundations, consisting of the turbines’ monopiles, transition pieces and…

Global power conversion technology group Ingeteam launched its next-generation, high-power doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind power converters. Ingeteam’s DFIG converter series was designed to be grid-friendly, and include fault ride-through, selective catalytic reduction and small-scale renewable features, enabling them to be deployed anywhere in the world. The new DFIG converters can be modulated for customized…