GE has officially completed the acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses, following regulatory approval of the deal in over 20 countries and regions. It is GE’s largest-ever industrial acquisition, and spans the EU, the U.S., China, India, Japan, and Brazil. GE reached an agreement with Alstom in 2014 to purchase Alstom’s power and grid…
ACCIONA Windpower installs more than 1,000-MW of wind-power capacity using concrete-tower technology
ACCIONA Windpower (AWP), the ACCIONA Group subsidiary dedicated to the design, manufacture, and commercialization of wind turbines, has hit a new milestone in the wind industry. The company has installed more than 1,000 MW (1 GW) of wind-power capacity using concrete-tower technology. ACCIONA Windpower’s unique concrete-tower technology enables higher hub heights for better energy production, and…
Lufft’s new weather sensor is equipped with lightning detection
Lightning strikes can cause dangerous fires and lead to significant financial losses in the case of surge damage. This is especially true for wind turbines, solar panels, and smart grids, but it’s also relevant to building and power-plant insurance. The latest compact weather sensor from Lufft is providing a new form of lightning detection to…
Siemens receives order for offshore wind power plant in the UK
Siemens is to supply, install, and commission 56 wind turbines for the Galloper Wind Farm (GWFL) off the south-east coast of England. The owners of the offshore wind power plant are RWE, UK Green Investment Bank, Macquarie Capital and Siemens Financial Services (SFS) — each with a 25% stake. The plant’s 336-MW capacity will be…
White House recognizes fire-suppression manufacturer SEVO Systems for commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
SEVO Systems, a provider of clean-agent fire protection solutions, was again represented at the White House HFC Reduction Roundtable event. At the event, the Obama administration and private-sector leaders reported on progress since last year’s meeting and announced ambitious future commitments to reduce potent greenhouse gases. SEVO Systems provides a safe environmental choice for fire suppression in critical…
Evaluating wind-turbine generators through electrical signature analysis
By Howard W Penrose, Ph.D., CMRP President | MotorDoc LLC Properly assessing an operating turbine’s electrical and mechanical systems is no easy task. An electrical signature analysis or ESA is independent of load or speed, so the test is often applied to analyze generators and electric equipment. Still, a challenge is to ensure loading stays constant…
Senvion supplies 16 turbines to UK wind farm
Senvion, one of the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturers, has signed a contract with Vattenfall to supply 16 Senvion 3.4M104 turbines to the Ray Wind Farm in the UK. Located on the Ray Estate near Kirkwhelpington in Northumberland, Ray Wind Farm will have a total rated output of 54.4 MWs and will produce enough electricity to…
Siemens to add an additional 173 MW to Clyde onshore wind farm in Scotland
Siemens has received an order for the supply, installation and commissioning of 54 direct-drive wind turbines. The SWT-3.2-101 turbines will add another 172.8 MW to SSE’s Clyde wind farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Siemens will also be providing long-term service for the new Clyde Extension project. With an existing capacity of 350 MW, Clyde is…
Aercoustics executive appointed to IEC Standards Committee for wind turbines
Aercoustics Engineering’s Payam Ashtiani has been appointed to IEC Standards Technical Committee 88, which reviews and sets all the worldwide electrical standards for wind turbines. Aercoustics is one of Canada’s leading engineering firms with specialized capabilities in all aspects of acoustics, noise, and vibration control. Since 2013, Aercoustics has been the only Canadian firm accredited to…
Siemens creates new sales channel for smaller onshore wind projects
Siemens is working to build stronger ties with owners of smaller onshore wind projects – the kinds of projects where local knowledge and expertise play a key role. In the future, Siemens will work more closely with partners on wind farms with up to three turbines. These partnerships will ensure that the operators of smaller…
Tool tethering for safer up-tower maintenance and repairs
By John Salentine | Vice President Hammerhead Industries (Gear Keeper) Wind turbine blades require year-round monitoring, maintenance, and repairs to ensure maximum production and efficiency. As of 2014, there were an estimated 700,000 blades in operation globally with an average of 3,800 incidents of annual blade failure, according to a report released from renewable energy…
Vestas supplies 3.3-MW turbines for citizen-owned wind park in Germany
Windpark Kalkriese GmbH has placed an order for 12 V126 3.3-MW turbines for a 39.6-MW wind park in Lower Saxony. The project will use Vestas’ patented Large-diameter Steel Towers to achieve higher hub heights and increased annual energy production. The turbines will be installed in Kalkriese in the county of Osnabruck in Lower Saxony, with…
Seven steps for making wind-power sites chemically safer and environmentally compliant
Eric Lethe | Vice President | Inland Technology Inc. The need for environmentally compliant processes and materials in the renewable energy industry has grown substantially as the market for clean power has matured. Even though wind turbines don’t use combustion to generate electricity, and therefore don’t produce air emissions, there are still risks of toxic…
What criteria should be considered when selecting lubricants for wind turbines?
Oil and other lubricants play important roles in keeping today’s wind turbines running reliably and efficiently. Because of the extreme conditions most turbines face and number of different parts that require lubrication, there is no specified set of criteria for choosing the right product, which makes careful section essential. “There is no ‘one size fits…
Corrosion-prevention specialist, Oxifree Global, plans expansion in offshore wind industry
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…
What features should OEMs consider when choosing encoders?
Rotary encoders are often one of the least discussed components of a wind turbine and yet they are integral to many related applications. Encoders are an electro-mechanical device that converts the angular position of a shaft or axle to a digital code. Three of the most common uses for encoders in turbines are: monitoring and controlling blade…
Wind industry and U.S. agencies team up for joint safety training
Professionals from across the wind industry were joined by government agency experts this week at a Suzlon training facility near Chicago for a battery of drills to promote safety in the fast-growing industry. Thirty-two safety professionals from two federal agencies – the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of…
Morgan offers new grounding brushes and holders for longer bearing life
Morgan Advanced Materials’ Electrical Carbon business recently announced new grounding brush holders, designed for stability and reliable dissipation of current to prolong bearing life. The grounding brush holders have a contact drop of less than one volt because to their high quality silver-graphite brush. DC motors applied on static drive systems and AC motors on adjustable-speed drives…
Senvion ranked second in wind installations in Germany
With the installation of exactly 100 turbines in the period from January 2015 to June 2015, Senvion is now the second largest manufacturer of wind turbines in Germany to date in 2015. The company has installed wind turbines in Germany with a total capacity of over 285 MW in the first six months of this…
Gamesa to install nine new turbines to re-power a UK wind farm
Gamesa, a global technology leader in wind energy, has been contracted to supply nine wind turbines to repower, the Ovenden Moor wind farm in the UK, developed by a joint venture between utility E.ON and renewable generator Energy Power Resources Ltd (EPRL). By replacing the old turbines the facility, which has been in operation since…