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…
Pattern Energy increases annual CAFD per share growth target to 12-15%
Pattern Energy Group Inc. announced it has increased its growth target for cash available for distribution (CAFD) per share to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12-15% for the next three years. Pattern Energy also announced it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire three wind power facilities for a total combined equity purchase…
What’s community wind got over those mega farms?
Community wind refers to 100-kW to 100-MW projects owned in part by local community members, often land owners of the site. Though community wind represents only 4% of the overall wind market, it’s the fastest growing segment of the industry. The community-wind development model has several benefits over traditional absentee-owned mega farms. Landowners often have…
Catastrophic Insurance for Wind Farms
Fraser McLachlan CEO GCube Insurance services, Inc. Newport Beach, California www.gcube-insurance.com The insurance market thought it had a bad 12 months with Australian fires and floods, plus the New Zealand Earthquake. Then Japan happened. The world is still reeling from the horrific damage and loss of life due to the March earthquake and tsunami. Governments,…
An introduction to insuring wind farms
Curt Maloy, Vice President, Gcube Insurance, Boston Most every wind project developer has sat staring at an empty “Insurance” line on a project financial pro-forma, wondering how to come up with a credible number his lender will accept for the annual projected cost of insuring his project. The reason is simple: It’s complicated. First of…
Strong wind, weak policy in Wyoming
Land procurement and development for wind farms is no walk-in-the-park. Obstacles, such as zoning and lack of transmission right-of-ways, are hampering current projects, but even more troubling are new obstacles state legislatures and city councils are implementing, such as those recently voted into Wyoming’s laws. In that state, ranchers have a significant influence on local…
Google Dips Its Hands Into $38.8 Million Of Wind Power
Google made its first direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project — two wind farms that generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to power more than 55,000 homes. These wind farms, developed by NextEra Energy Resources, harness power from one of the world’s richest wind resources in the North Dakota plains and use existing…
A better way to protect generator bearings
Although many wind farms in the U.S. are generating electricity and well beyond a testing stage, their debugging continues. Many of these turbines suffer design-related failures within their first few years of operation. Damaged bearings, for instance, can cause generator failures, which lead to unplanned downtime and costly repairs. If down for a month, a…
Rotor-Blade Ridges Promise More Turbine Power
Adding a series of ridges to the edges of a turbine blade could increase annual electrical production for wind farms by 20%, says the design firm for the feature. The idea comes from Humpback whales that tilt their fins at steep angles for more lift in the water. Too much tilt, has the opposite effect—a…