paul dvorak

The nature of warfare changes constantly. Static trench warfare played a big role in WWI, but improved air power and a more mobile battle tank brought much greater fluidity to WWII, making trenches obsolete. Later wars erased the idea of a front line altogether. WWII more importantly, became the information war. For example, the German…

Critics will use any club they can to beat the wind industry. It harms birds, they cry, while ignoring the worse effect of cars, cats, and large picture windows. It’s intermittent, others weep, while ignoring nuclear shut-downs for multi-month repairs. All power producers have shortcomings, but those of the wind industry are far more surmountable…

At a recent conference, a colleague from Chicago-based machine shop Bley LLC showed me pictures of the huge parts his team manufacturers. A gearbox front housing with torque arms, for instance, appeares over 6-ft in diameter. Main shafts are some 6-ft long and 2-ft in diameter with 5-ft diameter flanges on one end. Company manager…

In an ideal world, logistics directors would schedule a train to deliver tower sections, nacelles, and blades to a storage area within a few miles of their wind farm. Trucks would complete the delivery. But the ideal quickly runs off the rails because a few rail tunnels are too narrow for nacelles, many loads are…

You have to admit that Congress has a lot on its plate right now with three wars and an economic mess, so expecting it to pass a national energy policy is a bit much. However, defining and financing such an enormous project should be the centerpiece of the next administration. At this time, both sides…

Financing a wind farm is one aspect of development that seems to be in constant flux. For a three-perspective view of the current financial landscape, join us for this webinar. Attorney Graham Noyes addresses the financing tools and incentives available to developers. Matt Mooney speaks on the financial instruments that made the Flatwater Wind project…

Set a Google Alert for “windpower” and it finds many stories – some are positive, some critical, and some quite unfair. Fair criticism from honest people can be useful because it lets then you know what issues to address. But a lot of the criticism aimed at the wind industry is based on half truths…

Evolution in nature and technology play out much the same way: After periods of relative calm, something comes along to shake things up so that the biology or industry segment gets a radical shift.

Monitoring the products companies had on display at the AWEA’s recent WINDPOWER 2010 trade show and comparing them to products from the 2009 event, makes it possible to see dynamic and positive changes in the wind industry. After the show in Dallas, for instance, the trends in a nutshell are that turbines are headed to…

Last year was good for the wind industry as it added almost 40% more capacity. That’s 9,000 more MW and a remarkable feat. But don’t look for a repeat this year or the next unless legislation somehow speeds the painfully slow expansion and improvements to the transmission grid. It soon won’t matter how many turbines…

The headline here presents the simple goal for a Renewable Electricity Standard or RES, one echoed by the American Wind Energy Association and to some extent, 29 state governors. There is, however, only one tiny problem with the RES: It is not yet national policy. About a year ago, five CEOs from wind-industry manufacturers sat…

Last year was good for the wind industry as it added almost 40% more capacity. That’s 9,000 more MW and a remarkable feat. But don’t look for a repeat this year or the next unless legislation somehow speeds the painfully slow expansion and improvements to the transmission grid. It soon won’t matter how many turbines…