Binsfeld Engineering has released the new TorqueTrak TPM2 torque and power-monitoring system for applications including wind turbine machinery. The TPM2 model features a digital RS422 full duplex, serial interface, with user-selectable sample rates ranging from 10 to 4800 samples/second. Signal resolution is 15 bits for eight input ranges from 0 to 32mV/V down to 0…
Nordex awarded new contracts for a total of 55 MW in Turkey
Nordex strengthens again its role in Turkey. It will be installing 19 Generation Gamma turbines N117/2400 for its new customer ARE Elektrik in the wind farm “Kurtkayasi.” For ARE Elektrik this is the first wind energy project. Since its foundation in 2009 the company has so far concentrated on hydroelectric power plants. Kurtkayasi is located…
Vestas honored for using big data to optimize wind-turbine performance
By using big data Vestas is able to foresee when turbine components are malfunctioning and need maintenance − before they actually do. This was one of the reasons Vestas won Deloitte’s Big Data Award last week at Deloitte’s Information Management Conference, IM2015, in Copenhagen. Vestas uses smart data to optimize maintenance of wind farms all over…
Prolonging turbine life with predictive software
Stephen Steen is the head of Industrial Internet Solutions at Sentient Science, a third-party solution provider for wind-farm owners, operators, and OEMs. The company recently developed a prognostics-based computational solution for wind farms, which lets turbine owners predict failures 90% earlier than by diagnostic approaches alone. In this Wind Talk podcast, Steen speaks to us…
Hawkeye V2 Video Borescopes add annotation feature and a brighter light source
Users of Hawkeye V2 Video Borescopes now have the ability to add notations to the still images and video footage captured during inspections. Using the V2’s new Annotation Feature, inspection images can document not only the date of an inspection, but the inspector’s notes as well. “This function will be key to those who are…
Protecting wildlife at wind energy plants with 3D ultrasonic whistle
Biologists at Texas A&M University are partnering with scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the interdisciplinary intersection of energy research and wildlife protection in a federally funded project to design and manufacture ultrasonic, whistle-like pulse generators to help bats and other wildlife steer clear of wind turbines. Michael Smotherman, an associate professor in…
Shermco introduces new oil lab sample kit
Shermco Industries is an independent provider of safe and reliable acceptance testing, commissioning, maintenance, and repair and re-manufacturing of electrical equipment and power distribution systems. The company recently announced its new offering of a free insulating oil sampling kit. The analysis kit includes all the components needed for easily drawing and shipping an oil sample.…
Schaeffler to exhibit condition monitoring and main shaft bearing solutions at WINDPOWER 2015
Schaeffler will showcase a broad array of product and service solutions for wind turbine applications at the 2015 American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition held May 18-21 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The WINDPOWER annual conference and exhibition is the premier trade show in the U.S. for wind…
Generating eco-friendly power with metal rotor blades
Wind turbines deliver environmentally friendly electricity. Yet the fiber-reinforced plastics often used in very large rotor blades are almost impossible to recycle. Not so with steel blades: since these are composed of steel, their re-cyclability exceeds 90%. Plus they cost significantly less than comparable plastic blades. Wind turbines feed eco-friendly power into the grid. To…
Siemens to supply data center of Amazon Web Services with clean energy
Siemens will supply 65 wind turbines and 67 transformers for the Amazon Wind Farm (Fowler Ridge). The customer for this onshore project in Indiana is Pattern Energy. With a capacity of 150 megawatts (MW), the wind power plant will provide Amazon Web Services’ data center with eco-friendly electricity. Installation is scheduled to begin in July.…
Industry veteran launches APQ, a one-stop shop for power quality solutions
Industry veteran Gary Anderson, former President of Arteche PQ, has launched APQ, LLC to provide a range of electrical power products and services that save users money. APQ’s power quality products will mitigate harmonics and improve the quality and efficiency of power operations. The company will serve North America, building on the quality line of…
Learning how to prevent bird-turbine collisions
A trained falcon named Houdini darts and soars next to a wind power plant in the shadow of the Colorado Rockies, gathering radar data that could someday save the lives of his avian brethren. Peregrine gyrfalcon Houdini is the VIP guest of the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and he performs his strategic…
Trends in safety
The global fall protection equipment market is expected to develop at a compound annual growth rate of just under 6% from 2015 to 2019. This is one prediction from a recent report by research and advisory firm Technavio. “Fall protection equipment is increasingly becoming an integral part of safety and protection equipment in the energy…
Trends in filters and lubricants
By one estimate, 80% of all breakdowns in lubricated machines are related to pollutants in the oil. Even in small amounts, contaminants can increase operating costs associated with maintenance, downtime, or equipment replacements. Enough particles measuring only 1-μm in size (invisible to the human eye) can knock out a 20-ton gearbox. The solution: rigorous particle…
Nordex awarded two contracts for a total of 100 MW
Nordex SE has again received two orders for a turnkey installation of wind farms in Pakistan, which will be delivering a total of 40, N100/2500 turbines to the province of Sindh. In view of the high-ambient temperature conditions at the site, hot climate versions of the turbines designed to operate in temperatures of up to…
A sneak peek at Moventas’ latest gearbox testing results
Moventas has been testing their high-torque gearbox, the Exceed, and they can already shed some light on the promising results. The Exceed offers the highest torque-carrying capacity platform for high and medium-speed drivetrains in three-megawatt (MW) turbines and up. The platform approach enables adaptability, scalability, and cost efficiency. As per the image shown here, testing…
Molycorp chosen to supply rare earths for use in high-efficiency Siemens wind turbine generators
Siemens AG has selected Molycorp, Inc. to supply rare earth materials over the next 10 years from its Mountain Pass, California facility for incorporation into Siemens’ high-efficiency, direct-drive wind turbine generators. Molycorp will supply rare earth materials to Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., which will produce the rare earth magnets Siemens intends to utilize in its wind…
Klüber Lubrication to showcase high-temperature lubricants at Reliable Plant 2015
Klüber Lubrication, a worldwide manufacturer of specialty lubricants, will highlight its line of perfluorinated polyether (PFPE) based specialty greases at Reliable Plant 2015. The annual conference and exhibition for machinery lubrication, oil analysis, and reliability professionals will be held April 21–23 at the Cleveland Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Representatives from Klüber Lubrication will be…
Siemens receives order for Grand Bend Wind Farm in Canada
Siemens has received an order for the supply, installation and commissioning of 40 SWT-3.2-113 direct-drive wind turbines. The customer is Grand Bend Wind Limited Partnership, a partnership between Northland Power Inc., a Canadian independent power producer based in Toronto, and two local First Nations, the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island First Nation).…
Aztec Bolting Services presents UltraSlim hydraulic wrench cassettes
Aztec Bolting Services presents the new W-Series UltraSlim hydraulic torque wrench cassettes. These tools were developed to provide customers with a simple, durable, and controlled bolting solution for narrow-access applications. UltraSlim cassettes combine the simplicity and durability of the trusted W-Series hydraulic torque wrenches, with a stepped width bi-hexagonal design that allows the cassettes to…