Here’s what happens, or should, when a generator must visit a service center. Kevin Alewine/Renewable Energy Services. Shermco Industries, Irving, Texas./shermco.com Eventually, everything fails. Good predictive and preventative maintenance practices help prolong reliability and plan for the inevitable. But, sooner or later, something breaks that is beyond up-tower repair capabilities, and the generator will have…

There seems no shortage of creative thinking for placing turbines offshore. Take the Hexicon Energy Platform for example. The concept comes from Sweden-based Hexicon AB, (hexicon.eu) and shows the culmination of several clever ideas for generating power from wind and waves. The design is said to reduce service needs and extend its lifespan thanks to a…