Power & Energy Solutions

The premier renewable energy publication

Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

When it comes to sourcing an accommodation solution, which meets the requirements of all stakeholders in a renewable energy operation, the most successful approach is to work with an experienced partner. With wind farms increasingly being planned further from shore, daily transfers of technicians and crew members via vessels are becoming a thing of the past. And as more jobs are being created within the offshore wind energy sector to support siting, erecting, maintaining, servicing and possibly dismantling turbines, the need to retain highly skilled crew members is essential. Accommodating the crew at sea using temporary living quarters saves valuable time and offers a solution which safeguards the personal wellbeing of the crew in an environment often characterized by harsh conditions. Providing safe, high-quality accommodation with increased cabin space is a key factor in the wellbeing of the crew, who are involved in the vast activities of the construction and commissioning phases and beyond. Wind farm managers nearly always have to work to tight weather-dependent timescales and budgets. Wind farm managers are becoming equally as concerned with sustaining morale amongst their crew and want to ensure adequate space and reasonable privacy. After all, the rate at which the offshore wind

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

When it was first introduced to the maritime market, Damen’s Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710 – the successor to the FCS 2610 – hit the headlines for many reasons. Stepless and safe crew transfers, increased passenger capacity and an optimised hull are all pieces of the puzzle that illustrate the evolving design. All in all, the new FCS 2710 packs a lot of vessel into its 24-metre load line. Despite all the media attention, there is one particular development on the FCS 2710 that deserves to be put into the spotlight: its on board vessel monitoring system. The launching customer of the first FCS 2710 was UK-based offshore crew transfer service provider High Speed Transfers, a relatively young company with a clear focus on the European offshore wind sector. The company deploys this first vessel, called HST Hudson, to transport up to 26 personnel to their offshore workplace with a combination of high speed and comfort. With regard to the subject of this article, though, the most notable feature of the HST Hudson is that it is the first new build vessel from Damen’s high-speed craft portfolio to be equipped with vessel monitoring equipment. Impact loads This raises the question: what were the

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Exclusive Articles, PES Essential, Wind

Oil & gas, offshore wind and marine energy all will play their part in the future of energy. Perhaps a bag of mixed ingredients, but combined in the right way, it will serve the future a more renewable outlook. Offshore Energy 2019 gives the energy transition a home and this will be felt in the conference program. The whole conference covers oil, gas, marine energy and offshore wind and all of these subjects are sliced up into various sessions. Offshore Wind Conference 2019 will be held on 7 and 8 October, the six Offshore Energy Conference sessions on 8 and 9 October and Marine Energy Event on 9 October. You can cherry pick your favorite or why not go all the way and become one of our Premium Conference Guests? Let us delve into what we have lined-up for you! Offshore Wind Conference (OWC) 7 and 8 October – Amtrium – Amsterdam RAI As the world transitions to lower-carbon energy solutions, the energy industry needs to determine: what makes commercial and environmental sense and how does offshore wind fit in? OWC will start with an opening session by the chairman and will directly move into a session called Update NL. This session offers an

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Fronius has been writing commercial PV success stories for over 15 years. Tens of thousands of Fronius IG Plus, Eco & Symo systems are in use around the world and are favoured and valued by installers and end customers alike. Now this forward-looking company is launching its latest product for the commercial sector: the Fronius Tauro. ‘When we were developing the Tauro, it was particularly important for us to really address the needs of our customers, right down to the finest details. So, we spent some time visiting many of our customers, all around the world, to ask them about the challenges they face every day,’ explains Peter Schmidhuber, the product manager for the new inverter. The world tour, undertaken by the Research & Development team, was more than worth it: ‘We returned with a long list of requirements and preferences. By incorporating these into the Tauro, we’ve developed a product that closes previous gaps and really adds value for our customers.’ The robust commercial inverter is suitable for unsheltered outdoor locations and designed for roof-mounted systems and field installations alike. And it is setting new standards. ‘The AC daisy chaining option was particularly important as our customers frequently said that they

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Ask the Experts, Exclusive Articles, Solar

PES talks to ADLER’s CEO, Helge Glück, about latest trends and new technologies in the ever-changing PV industry, and how the market for PV fuse links is adapting to the new safety and technological challenges. PES: Hi Helge, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to PES. To start us off could you give us an overview of Adler? Helge Glück: With pleasure. ADLER Elektrotechnik Leipzig GmbH, is a German based manufacturer of circuit protection components, especially for high-speed DC fuse links. All our focus is on the rapidly developing market for renewable energies. It didn’t take us long to become a major player, in circuit protection components for solar power and e-mobility applications, thanks to our capability to adapt quickly to new trends in the PV and EV automotive industry. Our engineering and technology background can be traced back to the former Wickmann Group, which was once one of the big manufacturers providing circuit protection in Germany. Today, ADLER can look back on a comprehensive catalogue of 1000V and 1500V PV fuses and accessories. PES: First of all, let’s have a look at the PV market in general. In the last 5 years we have seen a rapid increase in the efficiency of

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Exclusive Articles, Think Tank, Wind

2010, ZephIR HQ, Worcestershire, U.K: the ZephIR 300 Lidar, a remote sensing wind measurement tool capable of collecting wind data remotely from its installed location by use of an infra-red laser, was born, following an 18-month product development program that focused on improving the ‘usability’ of remote sensing devices. The resultant product was described as being ‘easy to use, while also rugged to ensure its longevity in the field.’ In this paper we shall evidence that description and it begins with a number: #307. Mention that number to the team at ZX Lidars (ZephIR Lidar rebranded to ZX Lidars in 2018) and it will be met with a smile. And that’s because #307 has touched so many of the team and its use within the industry is the epitome of what a remote sensor should be, and do. The first of its kind As ‘300‘ was released to the market, it marked a step change in wind Lidar, of single ‘pod’ construction it was capable of operating from -40°C through to +50°C. It was small in size, low power, and fully CE compliant including approved ‘true’ Class 1 eye-safe laser classification. The system was provided with an 18-month service and warranty period as

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Ask the Experts, Exclusive Articles, Wind

Geoffrey Vancassel, CEO at Sterblue, spoke to PES about this innovative company, which in 4 years has reached the serious player threshold. They provide easy to use software, complete with apps and a cloud platform, which enables off-the-shelf drones (DJI) to carry out complex inspections. PES: Hi Geoffrey, welcome to PES Wind, it’s good to talk to you. Would you like to begin by giving us an overview of Sterblue and tell us something about your role in the company? Geoffrey Vancassel: Thanks it’s a pleasure! Sure, at Sterblue we are three cofounders, with some background in aerospace engineering and computer science, Airbus alumni. Nicolas Draber is our COO, Vincent Lecrubier our CTO and I am the CEO. Four years ago, we were truly disappointed to see that drones had literally no chance of performing some massive industrial operations: due to the low level of automation, with a real lack of digitization on the whole inspection workflow. That’s the main reason why we started up Sterblue. Now, we build software which helps drones inspect power lines and wind turbines. Our software guides drones along trajectories that wrap tightly around structures, finds anomalies from the collected images, and outputs reports. The whole

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Exclusive Articles, Talking Point, Wind

Germany has a wind problem. A big problem. In the first half of 2019 alone, only thirty-five new wind turbines were built nationwide. This staggering low number is eighty percent less than in 2018, and the lowest number of turbines built in twenty years! In fact, while most wind comes from the north of Germany, some does come from the south. However, in the first half of this year, not one turbine in Bavaria or Hesse was put into circulation. Wind power is not the only loss, jobs are also lost. In 2017 the Germany wind industry lost more than 20,000 jobs than in 2016. Germany has long lost its status of the world leader in wind energy. Also, during the first six months of 2019, only 231 megawatts of new wind were installed, which represents a staggering 82% decline compared to the first half of 2018. While Germany is expected to install between one and two gigawatts of wind energy this year, it is below the 4.3 average of the last five years, by over 100%! Germany’s goal of 65% renewable by 2030 is in serious jeopardy. BWE President, Hermann Albers, was recently quoted in regards to the mass opposition to

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Corporate Focus, Exclusive Articles, Wind

The Port of Thyboron is a one-of-a-kind industrial port on the Danish coast. Given its unique position, the port is developing with rising cargo transportation, lucrative maritime and fishery sidelines and has the potential to increase together with the rise in the offshore wind farm activity in the North Sea as wind farm site and hub. Thyboron Port is an independent port, owned by Lemvig Municipality. Located on the Danish North Sea coast inside the Limfjord, it has 5.5km of quay line at water depths varying from 3.5m to 9m. ‘Yes, we are very busy,’ reflected Port Director Jesper Holt Jensen. ‘But the unique atmosphere around the port, the companies that support each other and the projects we are embarking on, just adds to the one-off can-do attitude that you will rarely find elsewhere across Europe’s ports. ‘We might be small in stature, as the tenth biggest cargo port in Denmark, but we are big on getting the job done. Unstinting cooperation between all companies within the port is renowned. It is the port’s DNA.’ Indeed, the word ‘unique’ crops up many times when talking about the activities, the positioning and the overall performance of the Port of Thyboron. Founded by

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Ask the Experts, Exclusive Articles, Wind

Pete Grossgart, Marketing Manager, Port of Stockton, is very busy travelling around the world but PES managed to touch base with him in a brief stop off. Wind energy is at last taking off in the US and California is taking full advantage. There is space available for warehousing, assembly and maintenance work to be carried out. PES: Welcome to PES Wind magazine, it’s great to have the opportunity to talk with you. Can you give us some background on the Port of Stockton? Pete Grossgart: Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share a little bit about the port and our involvement in the renewable energy markets. We are an inland facility located in the extended San Francisco Bay Area and have handled cargo since 1933. We are the 4th largest port in California and handle dry bulk, breakbulk, liquid bulk, and project cargoes. Our cargo mix is very diverse and growing. PES: We know the offshore market is expanding, how is this impacting your business? PG: We anticipate being busy handling onshore wind energy projects, to at least the end of 2020. The push for offshore wind logistics is just beginning on the US West Coast. We are

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