Water droplet erosion testing of turbine blade materials
Water droplet erosion (WDE) is the loss of solid material from a surface due to repeated small-scale, high-intensity pressure pulses produced by the impact...
A holistic approach to asset risk management: Is it all or nothing?
Asset maintenance first hit the headlines during the late 1980s when it became a target for efficiency improvements throughout the process and chemical industries...
Energize wind operations with more modern control
As renewable energy gains more traction in the global economy, wind-farm owners and operators have new opportunities as what was once a niche market...
Measurements and modeling of friction torque of wind-turbine blade bearings
The friction torque of rotor blade bearings is a required parameter for the design of pitch actuators and may provide information about continued degradation...
Lidar vs. Met masts for wind-energy measurement
Our ability to harness the power of the wind plays a pivotal role in the transition to a greener and more sustainable future. Staring...
Headwinds for offshore construction
Renewable energy development in the United States has grown significantly in recent years. That development is driven by governmental requirements, including renewable portfolio standards;...
How spiral welding is revolutionizing wind-turbine manufacturing
Manufacturing costs and logistics are two challenges to rapidly integrating more renewable energy into the U.S. power system. This is especially true for tall...
Unlocking big savings: The role of predictive maintenance in component reliability
As demand for clean energy rises, the wind industry is scaling rapidly to keep pace with the energy transition. With Wood Mackenzie expecting 1.4...
Time to repower your wind-energy site?
To take advantage of better technology and current tax credits, wind-energy facility owners are repowering their sites, often before the end of the turbines’...
Exploring wind potential in the Gulf of Mexico
The August 29 federal auction of Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico marked the first major opportunity for offshore wind developers...
Taking advantage of renewable energy potential
Ahead of Electricity Transformation Canada, the country’s largest renewable energy and storage conference, Wind Systems sat down with the Canadian Renewable Energy Association’s President...
Greases for slow and steady wind-turbine bearings
Wind turbines use the same types of mechanical components as other mechanical systems — bearings, gears, and drive shafts — but their size, operating...
Laying the foundation for wind turbines now and in the future
In 2000, the average land-based wind turbine had a hub height of 190 feet, a rotor diameter of 173 feet, and produced 900 kW...
Medium voltage cables for wind-power collection systems
Extruded-dielectric medium voltage (MV) power cables make up the backbone of underground power distribution systems. The construction of MV underground distribution cable provides for...
Wind-turbine construction safety tips
Wind-turbine construction and demolition can be dangerous if proper safety measures are not taken. There are many hazards to be aware of, such as...
More options than ever for condition monitoring
Oil and other lubricants are the lifeblood of vehicles, industrial machinery, agricultural equipment, and anything else with gears, bearings, and other mechanical bits. And...
Bearing and gearbox failures: Challenge to wind turbines
With ever increasing energy requirements, the energy sector is seeing an unparalleled growth in renewable energy production with wind energy in the lead. Land-based,...
New Policy Blows New Life into Wind
Long-awaited policy certainty provides a critical shot-in-the arm for the wind industry, leading to a growing pipeline and reinvigorated domestic supply chain.
Last year will...
Combating Crew Challenges in Offshore Developments
In 2021, several key pledges were made to revolutionize the United States’ offshore wind-energy sector in the first weeks of the Biden administration, including...
Logistics capacity crunch could jeopardize offshore wind targets
The IEA predicts we must build more than 70 GW of new offshore wind capacity each year until 2030 to achieve net zero, and...
