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July 2026

Strategies for Improving Blade Quality and Reliability

Blade durability goes beyond design and must include consistent execution of that design across serial production, under real manufacturing conditions, that can affect the full operational life of a project.

High-profile turbine failures over the past several years have highlighted the importance of blade structural reliability. With original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continuing to push safety factors lower to save costs and weight, the need for design-for-manufacture (DFM) and robust quality control systems is greater than ever. It is at this intersection between design and manufacture […]
Dayton A. Griffin

Measuring what Matters

Case study: By blending Adiabat’s modeled wind data with ground-based, quality-controlled wind observations from hundreds of weather stations on the Synoptic Data platform, a methodology was created to leverage quality weather data for post-event wind analysis.

Wind-energy assets are deployed in some of the most meteorologically exposed locations on Earth. When significant wind events strike, such as when a hurricane makes landfall, a derecho crosses the Great Plains, or a powerful nor’easter affects offshore infrastructure, the ability to rapidly determine the locations of biggest impact and how it compares to historical […]
Ashley Ballard, Melanie Scott

June 2026

The Role of ROVs in Offshore Wind Maintenance

As offshore wind capacity continues to expand, even greater efficiency and flexibility will be demanded from ROV systems.

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) have long been associated with one industry above any other: oil and gas. This vital equipment was traditionally used to support subsea operations from pre-lay route surveys through to commissioning; however, there is now an ever-growing need for the technology to support the increasing number of offshore wind farms. The U.K. […]
Chris Buckle

The Invisible Work Keeping the Energy Transition Alive

Elevating maintenance to a strategic priority will help ensure that rapid growth in the sector translates into sustained, reliable, and economically viable clean energy generation.

As the wind industry focuses on ever-larger turbines, supply chain pressures, and evolving policy frameworks, the role of maintenance remains one of the most critical yet consistently under-recognized components within the sector. Often operating behind the scenes, maintenance functions receive far less visibility than development and construction, despite being fundamental to long-term success. When wind […]
Alexandra Hof

May 2026

Wind Power: Ready to help solve America’s affordability crunch

Wind power projects bring much-needed electricity and community investment at a time of rising demand and higher bills for everyday Americans, but federal obstruction threatens to keep wind from being part of the solution.

The U.S. wind industry stands ready to help keep a lid on rising power bills — if the industry is allowed to operate with less federal interference. By introducing new obstacles to an already-lengthy permitting process, the current administration has repeatedly attempted to throttle one of America’s best bets to build more power capacity at […]
Kelsey Hallahan

April 2026

Wind Turbine Tech Jobs: 2025-2026 Industry Outlook

Wind technicians are essential to delivering reliable, high-uptime renewable energy, so as installations grow and technologies evolve, technician demand is projected to remain robust through 2030 and beyond.

Wind turbine technicians literally provide the foundation of the industry, playing a critical role in the global transition to renewable energy. As the wind sector expands, so does the need for skilled talent to install, maintain, and operate wind turbines safely and reliably. The Role of the Wind Technician in 2026 Wind-turbine technicians (commonly called […]
Weather Guard Lightning Tech

March 2026

AI and Composites: The new paradigm in blade manufacturing and maintenance

Artificial intelligence algorithms are redefining efficiency and quality standards, with concrete applications ranging from material-use optimization to real-time inspection to the development of intelligent curing processes.

The wind-energy industry, a cornerstone of the global energy transition, faces a dual challenge: scaling production to meet growing demand while ensuring maximum efficiency and long-term durability of its assets. At the heart of this challenge are turbine blades — composite structures that are growing increasingly large and complex. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) […]
Carlos Sinhori

The next U.S. wind boom isn’t new turbines – it’s the ones already turning

As the U.S. fleet matures and the original OEM service agreements expire, owners are weighing the high capital cost of full repowering against the more nuanced proposition of extending the life of those machines already generating revenue.

Across the American Midwest, turbines that once symbolized a new energy frontier are now simply part of the landscape. Turning above cornfields in Iowa, along ranchland in Texas, and across the high plains of Oklahoma, wind turbines have become steady, familiar, and almost unremarkable. Yet, behind the quiet rotation lies one of the most important […]
Tony Morgan

February 2026

A Second Wind: Reimagining wind’s future through repowering and innovation

Repowering is more than just an industry trend; it is a foundational strategy for energy maturity.

The landscape of renewable energy is constantly evolving, with wind power standing as a testament to human ingenuity in harnessing nature’s forces. For more than three decades, towering turbines have dotted our horizons, silently converting the invisible currents of the air into clean electricity. These pioneering wind farms, many established in the late 1980s and […]
Ken Khor

Dynamic reliability estimation of wind-turbine gearboxes

This study presents a novel method to improve the reliability estimation of wind-turbine gearboxes by using real-time measurements of the operating conditions.

Wind turbine gearbox often fail to reach their expected lifetime of 20 years. This causes great maintenance costs and unexpected downtime. Similarly, gearboxes that do reach their expected lifetime are often replaced while they might be able to stay in operation for longer, missing out on revenue. There is a need for a reliability estimation […]
Georgo Angelis, Laurens Krudde

January 2026

The value of condition monitoring systems

By shifting maintenance plans from time-based to condition based, blade condition monitoring can be an essential part of wind-turbine reliability.

Wind-turbine blades are among the most critical and costly components in a turbine. Each blade is a complex composite structure designed to withstand extreme loads, environmental stress, and decades of operation, yet even minor defects can escalate into catastrophic failures if left undetected. This is where condition monitoring systems (CMS) come into play, transforming maintenance […]
Samuel Crisanti

Enhancing the safety of wind equipment

Conducting in-depth analysis and improvement measures for the fracture failure of wind-turbine blade bolts.

This article conducts an in-depth failure analysis on the phenomenon of bolt fracture of wind-turbine blades in a certain wind farm. By means of macroscopic inspection, composition analysis, microstructure examination, and mechanical property tests of bolts, the key factors leading to bolt fracture were deeply explored, and corresponding improvement suggestions were put forward. The research […]
Rui Chen