Michael Hughes, CIH, CSP | Global Head of EHS for Onshore Wind Siemens Energy, Inc. A commitment to safety underpins the design of a wind turbine, while designers focus on transportation, practicability, cost, and functionality. Balancing these design goals must occur in a manner that does not compromise the safety of those who manufacture, install, or…

Oxifree Global has secured funding from UK venture capital firm Octopus Investments letting it invest in expanding its offering within the offshore wind industry. This will also let the company roll out additional resources to support its global distribution and end user base. The business will supplement existing well-established operations in Houston, Texas with additional…

Offshore wind energy is a growing business, providing enormous potential to meet the world’s energy needs. But with their structures based at sea, building them has always posed a number of challenges. Now those challenges can be significantly reduced with a new standard for ports and marine operations for offshore wind energy structures. A relatively…

Renewable energy targets are now a defining feature of the global energy landscape, according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Renewable Energy Target Setting, launched on the side lines of IRENA’s ninth Council meeting, finds that 164 countries have adopted at least one type of renewable energy target, up from…

AWS Truepower’s Wind Trends Bulletin Annual Review provides wind plant owners, investors, and operators with a high-level analysis of wind resource performance influenced by climatic fluctuations. This aids in identifying potential issues with wind plant under-performance. Highlights of the 2014 Annual Bulletin include the following findings: winds were normal to above normal, with some exceptions,…

Global wind turbine O&M expenditures are expected to rise from $9.25 billion as of 2014 to $17 billion by 2020. That’s according to a recent report from consultancy firm GlobalData, which points to an increasing number of installations and aging turbines. GlobalData analyst Harshavardhan Reddy Nagatham said that maintenance is vital to the commercial viability…

UL provides services aimed at helping cut through the complexity of bringing wind-powered equipment to the market, and offers a one-stop, all-in-one service for the global wind energy industry. UL will be exhibiting at WINDPOWER 2015 in Orlando, Florida May 18th-21st (Booth 2904). The services provided for wind turbine and component manufacturers includes: Certification of…

A new report from Navigant Research analyzes the global market for energy storage enabling technologies (ESETs) across four distinct market segments: utility-scale storage, community storage, residential storage, and commercial storage, including global market forecasts through 2024. The supporting technologies associated with energy storage systems include power conversion (primarily focused on inverters), system-level software and controls,…

A new report from Navigant Research covers developments in the wind energy sector during 2014, including an analysis of the important changes in the industry over the last three years and the global market forecasts through 2019. Fueled by the policy-driven acceleration of installations in three key countries—China, Germany, and the United States—the global wind…

Global expenditure for wind turbine Operations and Maintenance (O&M) will rise from $9.25 billion in 2014 to an estimated $17 billion by 2020, driven by increasing numbers of installations and aging turbines, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData. The company’s latest report* states that on average, offshore O&M is two to four times more…

Small wind turbines are playing an increasing role in many countries, in particular in Asia and in North America. So far, European small wind markets, aside from the UK, have not been major drivers of this success story, neither technically nor economically. This might well change in the foreseeable future. In the past weeks, two…

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicate that global emissions of carbon dioxide from the energy sector stalled in 2014, marking the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of the greenhouse gas that was not tied to an economic downturn. “This gives me even more…

Editor’s Note: A drop in oil prices might seem like a good thing at first (cheaper prices at the pump for one), but they can also symbolize a weak global economy. Cheap oil and gas prices may also negatively impact renewables. Although as some analysts have pointed out, wind and solar energy tend to be…