Month: October 2016

ZF Technology In Wind Turbines Powering A World In Motion

A global increase of electricity consumption along with the expected exhaustion of fossil fuel sources are ushering in a new era of environmental awareness that is opening up opportunities for the use of renewable energy sources such as wind power. With expertise in both automotive and industrial technology, PES discovers why ZF supports gear-driven wind… Read more »

Extreme UAV blades inspection

Paolo Brianzoni, CEO of Visual Working SA, talks to PES about the exciting developments in drone inspection. The company is pushing the boundaries to bring the ultimate in image quality and data richness. This means there is the occasional crash, but they just pick themselves up and improve… PES: Welcome to PES Wind magazine. Thanks… Read more »

Transport giants

Universal Transport is driving energy transition forward. The transport of components for wind turbine plants requires a vast amount of intensive preparation; the 70m long rotor blades, especially, create a real challenge. This kind of job is all in a days’ work at Universal Transport, one of the leading contractors in the area of large… Read more »

Drone inspections take off

Drones are starting to change many industry sectors, especially in maintenance and services. SPECTAIR GROUP is one of Germany’s biggest players in the drone industry. Besides surveying, monitoring and industry inspections the SPECTAIR GROUP serves the wind industry. PES met up with Marius Schroeder, Head of Marketing at SPECTAIR GROUP GmbH in Germany, to find… Read more »

Inspections go autonomous

PES caught up with Danny Ellis, CEO and co-Founder of Skyspecs, to hear about the latest drone inspection technology. It’s an exciting time for Skyspecs as they look towards expanding their services in Europe. PES: Welcome to PES Wind magazine. Thanks for talking with us. Would you like to begin by explaining a little about… Read more »

Innovative monitoring of the North Sea Foundations

In 2010 researchers of the acoustics & vibrations department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) started working on the topic of FSHM (Foundation Structural Health Monitoring), back when this abbreviation was not very well known in the wind power industry. Going back six years ago, the main research in the field of sensors and monitoring… Read more »

The heavy weights

Jan Willem van der Graaf, CEO at Seaway Heavy Lifting, talks to PES about the decrease in oil & gas projects, due to the slump in oil prices and the increase in interest in contracts for renewables. PES: Welcome to PES, thanks for talking to us. You are active in several industries, is wind energy… Read more »

Protect your turbines

Words: Dipl.-Chem. Joachim Rother, Technical Director, novatic COATINGS Group The novatic® COATINGS Group has an extensive portfolio of high quality coating materials, for industrial corrosion protection, for use in various industries. There is a wide range of corrosion protection systems and applications available ranging from easy to use, for the protection of interior steel constructions,… Read more »

Customised global tarps

When we last spoke to Henning Weisz, the CEO of Global Tarps (Group MPASIA), it was following a 12 month growth period that had also seen the company maintain its reputation for quality and service. We caught up with Henning once again to find out how the business has been performing recently. “We control the… Read more »

Extra Life

Words: Petri Aho, Senior Vice President, Service Sales EMEA & APAC. This year Moventas launched a new suite of services called Extra Life. Extra Life suites incorporate gearbox services for the most popular, aging fleets, namely GE, Siemens and kilowatt class turbines. By removing known failure modes and replacing them with core Moventas technologies, gearbox… Read more »

Why OEMs, Operators Opt for Ultracapacitors in Wind Pitch Control

Words: Wolfgang Beez, Sr. Marketing and Business Development Manager – Wind Systems, Maxwell Technologies Wolfgang Beez is senior business portfolio manager wind for the group and works closely with wind operators to integrate ultracapacitor wind pitch control retrofit systems in wind farms across the globe. Ultracapacitors – the fast-responding, power-packed energy storage devices that have… Read more »

Safety at dizzying heights

PES discovers the Limpet height safety system, with its Intelligent Climb Assist feature, which includes rescue, evacuation and fall arrest. It provides assisted climbs, no matter your weight, saves maintenance time, down times and in the case of an accident – critical time. “At the top of a wind turbine in France, Gregory, a senior… Read more »

Testing Times

Words: Thomas Arnold, Team Leader Measurements and Technical Testing for Wind Energy Turbines, TÜV SÜD Industrie Service GmbH Treading a path to and from the filing cabinet is all part of the daily routine of many wind farm owners and operators. Many details of the condition of their wind farm can only be found there…. Read more »

THE VOLE AU VENT

PES brings you the latest on JAN DE NUL’S INSTALLATION SHIP, THE VOLE AU VENT. A jack-up vessel specifically built for work on wind farms. Read on to find out more. On Tuesday September 15th 2016, JAN DE NUL and NOBELWIND will sign the first offshore wind contract for JAN DE NUL’s installation ship, VOLE… Read more »

Equipment rental – a better option

PES caught up with Michael Halberg Sørensen, CEO of HeliPPE, to find out how the company started. He talks about the benefits, in terms of cost savings and safety, of hiring personal protective equipment (PPE) for helicopter transport. PES: Welcome to PES Wind magazine. Thanks for talking with us. Would you like to begin by… Read more »

Does wind energy still need certification?

Words: Kim Mørk, Executive Vice President of Renewables Certification, DNV GL Energy The wind power industry has changed massively over the last 10-15 years. New concepts, technologies and devices have arisen and certification has played an essential role in bringing these developments to market. But today the wind industry is much more mature, and the… Read more »

Cable solutions

DONG Energy awarded DEME’s subsidiary Tideway cable installation contract for the Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm. PES investigates to find out why and introduces readers to the ‘Living Stone’. Early June this year, Tideway BV, Breda, the Netherlands, a subsidiary of the Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME, was awarded a cable… Read more »

WindEnergy Hamburg

PES brings you a preview from the leading international wind energy expo, which expects more than 1,200 exhibitors. It is the largest international business platform onshore and offshore and reflects the global market and the whole of the value chain. It is the meeting point for decision makers from all parts of the world. Hopefully… Read more »

Offshore – Learning by doing

Offshore terminals are the most important interfaces during the construction of wind farms off the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas. Many wind farms have been created in recent years and more are already in the planning stages. The Hamburg-based company Buss Port Logistics (Buss) recognised the opportunities early on, and with their own… Read more »

Cutting edge blades

PES caught up with Ryan Lauridsen, CEO at Bladena to find out about the latest developments in blade technology. An important issue in our industry.. PES: Welcome to PES Wind magazine. Thanks for talking with us. Would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of your organisation and how you currently… Read more »

A never ending story

In the late 1990s, Hermann Albers, president of the German Wind Energy Association, was already pointing out that existing networks would not manage to accommodate the growing supply of green power. “Instead of taking action, grid operators began new planning, much too late because they didn’t believe in the success of renewables”, he frequently complained…. Read more »

4 in to 1 makes ALL NRG

Ken Søerensen, CEO at ALL NRG, dropped in to tell us about the developments at the company. More companies are likely to join ALL NRG in the future, providing easier contacts for the customer. He is looking forward to a boom over the next two years. PES: Welcome to PES Wind magazine. Thanks for talking… Read more »