Power & Energy Solutions

The premier renewable energy publication

Press Releases, Renewable News, Wind

An ambitious wind farm in East Ayrshire has been approved by the Scottish Government – and will deliver a host of benefits to the community as well as generating clean, green electricity. Banks Renewables is delighted that its Lethans Wind Farm, east of New Cumnock, has been given the go-ahead, after plans were revised to maximise the supply of electricity. Approval means Lethans’ 22 turbines, at a maximum tip height of 220m, (the tallest turbines granted planning permission in Scotland to date), will have a maximum output of up to 105.6MW. The Hamilton-based renewables employer has worked closely with local independent renewable energy consultant and service provider Natural Power to deliver the project. Both green energy companies have previously worked together on a number of projects to contribute to Scotland’s net-zero pathway. Robin Winstanley, sustainability and external affairs manager at Banks Renewables, said: “This has taken many years of hard work, planning and close consultation with the local community and it is a major milestone to see it over the line. “As well as being a meaningful advance in Scotland’s green energy agenda, approval for Lethans will also deliver real, deep and long-lasting benefits to the local people, the environment and to the

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Press Releases, Renewable News, Wind

Trelleborg’s applied technologies operation will present a paper on its innovative radar mitigation solution, Frame™, at Global Offshore Wind, a virtual conference and exhibition. As part of the conference program, Dr Adam Nevin will present his paper, ‘Reduce Radar Cross Section Wind Farms: Solving Wind Turbine Radar Interference at Source’ on Friday 30th October, at 12.30pm in the Supply Chain Theatre. One of the ways that Trelleborg is contributing to solving offshore wind challenges for its customers, is with the development of Frame™. This is a unique radar mitigation material designed and developed to reduce the clutter wind turbines cause on radar operator screens. Terry Cooper, Managing Director at Trelleborg’s applied technologies operation in Retford, England, states: “Wind turbines can cause radar interference, showing up on radar operators’ screens as clutter, obscuring the display and resulting in lost aircraft tracking. Our Frame™ material has been developed to functionalize blade resins and fiberglass systems to enable integrated radar absorption. “In many instances, windfarm sites are refused planning permission close to electromagnetic wave based surrounding infrastructures, such as airports. As Frame™ creates a truly robust stealth wind farm, this issue is avoided, facilitating development in previously restricted areas.”   Global Offshore Wind is a virtual online conference and exhibition running across three days from the 28 – 30 October, enabling attendees to hear

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Exclusive Articles, Think Tank, Wind

Can you name any other energy plant that you build, operate and try to understand if it’s performing efficiently, without actually measuring the fuel that you’re supplying? A wind farm is often exactly that. According to a recent ‘A Word About Wind’ study, almost 50% of those surveyed placed the validation of their production plant as the Number One priority for them – and currently almost half the interviewed were not confident in what’s actually happening with their asset at any given time. Until recent years the cost and complexity of measuring with met masts across a wind farm has made this measure of wind farm ‘fuel’, i.e. the wind, impractical. Nacelle or spinner anemometry is given the challenging job of trying to do its best whilst measuring wind behind, or close the rotor and the disturbed air flow. Add to that site complexity, wakes and turbine array effects… it has meant that estimations of wind speed based on rotor speed, power generation or forecasting are often the only choice. In contrast, Nacelle Based Lidars remotely and precisely measure the wind ahead of a turbine and provide meaningful validations of how wind turbines and wind farms are performing providing information for asset optimisation.

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Online trade is the big winner of the Corona crisis. This also applies to the spare parts and repair market for wind turbines. A Hamburg company, a pioneer in this niche in 2013, is now gaining momentum despite, or because of Corona. Stefan Weber, Founder and Managing Director of Windsourcing.com GmbH, shares his thoughts with PES on how the foundation of a digital trading company came about and how much more importance digitization has gained among the broad masses in the context of the Corona crisis. I am an Amazon fan. Please do not misunderstand me. It is completely unacceptable not to pay sales tax from Asian suppliers in Germany and to pay little if any company tax at all. No, I am a fan of focusing on the customers and their benefits: the punctual and fast delivery and using the distribution channel Internet. This enthusiasm has driven me already in 2013 when I founded Windsourcing.com. It was clear to me that digitalization does not stop at renewable energies and here the industry and the entire energy industry can learn a lot from Amazon and Co. Prior to the foundation of the company, I had already been working for many years

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

No, Wind Energy Asia is vital to the development of the supply chain in Taiwan PES brings you a review of Wind Energy Asia 2020, which took place from March 3rd -5th and a look at forward to the upcoming edition in 2021. In mid-February 2020, as the show approached, the coronavirus spread was heating up and headed straight to be declared a pandemic. Many European exhibitors were having difficulties imagining getting on a plane and flying to an island just 100 plus miles from China, where it all had started and was still far from under control. In Taiwan however, with no community spread to speak of, the virus situation was very much under control. And we knew that, despite the pandemic, renewables continued to need development and that a strong supply chain in Taiwan was critical for the continued development of the industry here. So, despite the many skeptics, we went ahead. And were rewarded grandly! All our numbers were up handsomely, yes, up, in 2020, imagine, compared to 2019: • 52.8% more companies exhibiting, 136 in total. About 10-15 others canceled days before due to the pandemic • 13 countries and 8 pavilions: up from 6 last year • Exhibition area grew 29.7%

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

If a leopard could not change its spots, it would have long been extinct had it been masquerading as a vessel owner in the offshore industry! ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.’ —Charles Darwin An inability to adapt to changing surroundings has repeatedly been the downfall of those incapable of moving forward. You only need to look at companies such as Kodak and Blockbuster to see what can happen if you are unable or too slow to embrace change. Bringing things closer to home, shipping in general and offshore specifically has been hard hit over the past few years by a sustained oil-price crash, compounded by the current global COVID-19 pandemic. These events have shone a critical light on not just the way we do business, but on life as we know it – and this is not said lightly. The devastation from the pandemic has already left its mark on hundreds of thousands of individuals and families, whilst the economic fallout from the current crisis will be deep, far-reaching and undoubtedly leave many casualties in its wake. Change is definitely on

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

With the increasing trend toward cleaner energy sources, offshore wind technology plays a vital role in supporting the global transition to renewable energy. Development of shallow water locations is increasing in volume and pace, with the industry moving toward the more substantive wind energy resources that are found offshore in deeper waters, through the application and development of floating offshore platform technologies. By 2025, it is anticipated that close to 20,000 turbines with 250 plus offshore substations will have been installed offshore. Even with the development of larger turbines, these quantities are expected to increase by a factor of three plus by 2050*. Critical to their successful operation are the subsea power cables that have the essential function of transmitting generated power from the turbines to the substations (electric hub of the windfarm), and then onward to shore. Digitization in renewable energy Digital technology development continues at a rapid pace, increasing in functionality and accessibility, while supporting gains in productivity, efficiency, visibility, and informed decision making. With growing competition in renewable energy markets and ever more remote and demanding deep-water conditions, the renewables industry is looking at advanced digital solutions to enable new efficiencies and maximize return on investment. The continued

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Ask the Experts, Exclusive Articles, Wind

PES caught up with Wim Keen, CSO of STEEL INSPECT. He was happy to tell us about the services the company provides to the offshore wind energy sector and gave an introduction to their unique total quality concept, Q7, which is used to manage the quality of complete offshore wind EPCI projects. PES: Hi Wim, welcome to PES Wind, it’s great to have this opportunity to talk with you. Would you like to begin by telling us something about the background of Steel Inspect and how Steel Inspect currently serves the offshore wind energy sector? Wim Keen: Steel Inspect was founded in 2006 by Maik Rienecker. He gained wide experience in worldwide EPCI powerplant construction projects, which he capitalized on to found STEEL INSPECT. Our aim is to serve the construction sector, by capitalizing on his knowledge on how to manage large construction projects, so that they are completed with optimal quality and within best time frames. Since 2011 STEEL INSPECT has served the offshore wind sector, helping large offshore wind farm projects to be completed to the highest standard. Projects in the offshore wind energy sector are large and complex, often with multiple suppliers and production sites. This calls for

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Anyone familiar with the current offshore wind (OSW) project pipeline along the United States’ East Coast, knows that this undertaking has great potential to turn into the envisioned one trillion-dollar industry in the coming decades. The current plan is to install 13 offshore wind farms totaling 9.1GW power output by 2026 [AWEA Status Update 2020], with industry experts predicting to overtake the European market 20 years from now. This ambitious project poses an immense challenge, but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the entire American waterfront. Are we ready to handle the world’s largest offshore wind turbines, and how can we bridge existing gaps between industry expectations and currently available cabotage compliant solutions? Lessons learned from the existing U.S. onshore wind industry can help us to provide the skillsets necessary. Today we hear from SEA.O.G. Offshore about their perspective on OSW’s future in the U.S. and their plan to use onshore industry experience to move offshore wind forward. From onshore to offshore With more than 60,000 onshore turbines planted across 41 states, wind has already become the most significant renewable energy source in the United States. As of January 2020, the total installed wind power nameplate generating capacity in the United

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