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December 2015

Editor’s Desk

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Editor’s Desk

2015 was a growing year for the wind energy industry, during which we’ve seen a lot of advancements being made that should make for a promising future to carry on into 2016.

AWEA’s recently released market report revealed that more than 1,600 MW of new wind capacity was installed during the third quarter of 2015, bringing the total to almost 3,600 MW for the year.

A “wind rush” also occurred in October with a record wind output reported by grid operators in Texas (ERCOT), the Midwest (MISO), Colorado, the Lower Plains states, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and New England (ISO-NE).

In fact, according to Bloomberg Business, the Great Plains states spanning south from Canada to Texas between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River are turning away from burning coal and instead looking to generate the power they need by harvesting wind power. With coal at its lowest point in 14 years, wind generation has grown almost tenfold since 2005 in Texas where more coal is burned than any other state. Also, throughout the latter part of this year, Texas installed the most wind power in the U.S. with 771 MW, according to AWEA. Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and the Dakotas have all followed a similar trend as they’ve shifted toward using more renewable sources of power, including wind.

Wind generation has been growing across the country since 2005 — not only in the Lone Star State. Ten years ago, the U.S. had approximately 9,000 MW of wind capacity. That number has grown to 69,471 today, as well as more than 13,250 that are under construction, according to AWEA.

Coal producers are struggling with their industry’s worst downturn in decades driven by tougher emissions standards resulting from escalating global warming concerns. According to EIA data, coal fell by 13 percent from 2010 through 2014 in the wind-rich states of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.

So, there you have it. The evidence supports that wind is headed in the right direction going into 2016. With the holidays just around the corner, that news couldn’t have come at a better time. (Cue the eggnog and relaxing by an open fire.)

In preparation for the new year, we’ve included a 2016 Wind Systems calendar with this issue where you’ll find several holidays marked as well as AWEA’s major events throughout the year, including the annual WINDPOWER show coming up in New Orleans from May 23 to May 26. This event is set to include lots of educational opportunities and key networking events, some of what I enjoyed most in Orlando this year.

As always, thanks for reading, and happy holidays!
 

Anna Claire Howard

Innovative Study Helps Offshore Wind Developers Protect Wildlife

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Innovative Study Helps Offshore Wind Developers Protect Wildlife

Thanks to a first-of-its-kind in-depth study of wildlife distribution and movements, the nation’s Eastern Seaboard is better prepared now more than ever for offshore wind energy. Funded by the Energy Department and several partners, the collaborative Mid-Atlantic Baseline Studies Project helps improve the understanding of many birds and aquatic animals that live in the Mid-Atlantic and how they interact with their marine environment, promoting more sustainable offshore wind development.

Image 1

Prepared by the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the study provides two years of high-quality baseline data to wind energy regulators, developers, and other stakeholders, which BRI gathered through a mix of methods, including boat and aerial surveys, filling critical information gaps on species distribution and behavior of seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and other species. This extensive study covers more than 7,000 square miles of ocean waters along the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware coastline where a number of offshore wind projects are moving forward.

Surveying the Mid-Atlantic
The study was conducted from 2012 to 2014 in Outer Continental Shelf waters off the Mid-Atlantic coast using several new technologies and methods to monitor and analyze wildlife distribution patterns. The results provide a new tool to help regulators, resource managers, researchers, and developers minimize issues during offshore wind siting and permitting processes, as well as informing natural resource management and conservation efforts.

Boat-based surveys are typically used to monitor marine wildlife because boats can travel slowly enough to allow researchers to record detailed data on species of interest. This includes behavioral data, such as feeding frenzies of dolphins and seabirds preying on fish.

On the other hand, high-resolution digital video aerial surveys are a newer method for collecting data on marine animals. This study was the first to use this method on a broad scale in the United States. State-of-the-art video aerial surveys were conducted from small twin-engine planes at an altitude of 2,000 feet, which is much higher than traditional visual aerial surveys flown at altitudes of roughly 200-600 feet. Flying at this higher altitude is safer for flight crews and less disruptive to the animals being counted. The aircraft had four belly-mounted cameras with a 200-meter-wide range of data collection.

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Tracking techniques, such as attaching satellite transmitters to individual birds, also give researchers detailed information on the day-to-day movements and habitat use of wildlife. In this part of the study, the Energy Department contributed to two larger ongoing studies tracking marine birds, including red-throated loons, northern gannets, and surf scoters. Satellite telemetry was also used to study movements of peregrine falcons offshore.

Additionally, weather surveillance radar was used in the study to identify offshore wildlife migration pathways and timing. These radar systems can detect precipitation as well as the movements of birds, bats, and insects. Innovations developed during this study allowed for targeted exclusion of weather phenomena. This improved the sample size of available data and allowed for examination of migratory activity even during rainy and snowy nights. Finally, detectors on boats were used to record wildlife sounds at night to monitor animal activity offshore.

Mix of Technologies
By using a wide range of technologies and methods, the study developed a more complete picture of wildlife populations in the Mid-Atlantic study region. Combining the unique strengths of boat-based and high-resolution digital video aerial surveys alongside satellite-based tracking resulted in a more comprehensive understanding of wildlife patterns across the region. For example, survey data allowed for population-level analyses of abundance and distributions that were not possible with tracking alone. Similarly, satellite tracking provided data on broad-scale movements of individual birds, including nocturnal locations, which were missing from survey data.

Image 3

This research builds on the Wind Program’s work to remove barriers to wind power deployment and increase public understanding of wind power technologies by addressing siting and environmental issues. As a model for future studies, the results will be used to make environmental management decisions by a variety of stakeholders including government agencies, developers, environmental consultants, and nonprofits.

For more information on research and development work in this subject area, go to www.energy.gov/eere/wind and click on the Wind Program’s Environmental Impacts and Siting of Wind Projects page under the Research & Development tab. Also, for more information about BRI’s Wildlife and Renewable Energy Program, go to www.briloon.org/mabs. 

— Source: DOE
 

What America’s First Offshore Wind Farm Reveals About GE’s Alstom Deal

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What America’s First Offshore Wind Farm Reveals About GE’s Alstom Deal

Block Island is a teardrop-shaped piece of land some 13 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. It’s best known for its beaches, wind-swept bluffs, and summer vacation homes. But a new attraction is quickly rising 3 miles off its southeastern shore.

There, in the choppy Atlantic surf, a company called Deepwater Wind started building what will be America’s first offshore wind farm. The farm will have five wind turbines, each rising to twice the height of the Statue of Liberty. When completed in late 2016, they will generate a combined 30 MW of electricity — enough to supply 17,000 homes — and turn Block Island into the most powerful coastal enclave in the northeast.

Figure 1

But there’s more to the project. It is also the physical example of GE’s future following its acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid business, which closed earlier in November.

The Block Island farm brings together Alstom’s massive Haliade turbines, whose blade tips will tower 600 feet above the water, and GE’s innovative gearless permanent magnet generators that can produce 6 MW of power. The combination has the potential to transform the renewables business both in the U.S. and abroad.

Figure 2

Until now, Europe has been the hub of wind innovation, according to Bryan Martin, head of U.S. private equity at the financial firm D.E. Shaw. The company is financing the $290 million Deepwater farm, and Martin said he believes that bringing Alstom’s wind turbines and GE’s power generation technology under one roof will change the wind industry’s competitive landscape.

“We’re very excited about GE’s acquisition of Alstom’s power businesses,” Martin said. “GE and Alstom getting together creates the first real competitor to Siemens for offshore wind farms in Europe.”

The rotor of each Haliade turbine is nearly one-and-a-half times the length of a football field, or 150 meters. All that torque spins GE’s 6-MW direct drive permanent magnet generator. The design allowed GE engineers to eliminate the gearbox, reduce the number of moving parts, cut the need for maintenance, and lower the operating cost.

Figure 3

The generator weighs 150 tons and sits 100 meters in the air. It’s split into three separate electrical circuits. Even if two circuits go offline, the turbine can still produce 2 MW of electricity on the remaining circuit. Low maintenance and redundancy are hugely important, especially for offshore installations where treacherous waters and high wind can delay a repair trip for days or weeks.

According to Jeffrey Grybowski, chief executive of Deepwater, the farm will power all of Block Island, which currently relies on expensive diesel fuel. The farm will also lower carbon emissions by an estimated 40,000 tons annually — the equivalent of taking more than 150,000 cars off the road. It could also help cut electricity bills for Block Island residents by up to 40 percent.

“Offshore wind can power much of the U.S. East Coast, not least in the Northeast, where the wind is strong and we need energy,” Grybowski said. “And we can employ lots of people doing it.”

The Block Island farm will be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. But the potential for U.S. offshore wind energy is massive — over 4,000 GW, which amounts to more than four times the nation’s annual electricity production, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. President Obama’s Clean Power Plan has also increased interest in onshore and offshore wind energy, presenting a new opportunity for industry.

Figure 4

So far, a total of 47,000 onshore turbines have been installed in the U.S. wind market where GE is a major player. The Alstom power and grid acquisition now gives it a stronger offshore offering and one of the broadest and deepest renewables portfolios in the industry. The combined businesses will also have expanded project expertise and financing for power projects.

“Today, offshore wind is a small market with big potential, and the Block Island project sits at the leading edge of innovation,” said Anders Soe Jensen, CEO of GE’s offshore wind unit. “We’re proud that GE will again be making energy history with the first American offshore wind farm.”

For more information, go to www.gereports.com. 

— Source: GE Reports
 

Invenergy Starts Commercial Operation of Beech Ridge Energy Storage Project in West Virginia

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Invenergy Starts Commercial Operation of Beech Ridge Energy Storage Project in West Virginia

Invenergy LLC recently announced the start of commercial operations of its 31.5-MW Beech Ridge Energy Storage project in Rupert, West Virginia.

The project is located in Greenbrier County, approximately 60 miles southeast of Charleston at Invenergy’s Beech Ridge Energy Center, and complements the facility’s existing 100.5 MW of wind energy. Beech Ridge Energy Storage provides fast-response regulation service to the PJM market and brings Invenergy’s total operating storage capacity to more than 64.5 MW.

“The start of operations for Beech Ridge further underscores our commitment to finding innovative storage solutions to meet our customers’ needs,” said Kris Zadlo, senior vice president of regulatory affairs, storage, and transmission at Invenergy. “We are continuing to expand our storage project portfolio as we believe this revolutionary technology plays a vital role in the future of renewable energy.”

An industry leader in energy storage, Invenergy also has a 31.5-MW storage project at its Grand Ridge Energy Center in LaSalle County, Illinois. Earlier this month, that facility received the Energy Storage North America’s (ESNA) 2015 Innovation Award for Centralized Storage. ESNA is the largest and most influential gathering of policy, technology, and market leaders in energy storage, and the conference’s Innovation Awards recognize excellence in installed energy storage projects across three categories: centralized storage, distributed storage, and mobility.

Invenergy’s Grand Ridge Storage Facility was also recently named a finalist for Best Renewable Project by Power Engineering and Renewable Energy World magazines.

Both the Beech Ridge Energy Storage and Grand Ridge Energy Storage facilities are utilizing BYD America’s containerized energy storage system.

In all, Invenergy has more than 100 MW of energy storage projects in operation, in construction, and in development in the United States, making it one of the largest energy storage companies in the world. 

— Source: Invenergy

Grand Opening of Pattern Energy’s 200-MW Logan’s Gap Wind Facility in Texas

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Grand Opening of Pattern Energy’s 200-MW Logan’s Gap Wind Facility in Texas

Pattern Energy Group Inc. (Pattern Energy) recently held a Grand Opening ceremony to dedicate its new 200-MW Logan’s Gap Wind facility in Comanche County, Texas. Now operating at full capacity, Logan’s Gap Wind will create enough clean energy to power 50,000 homes in Texas each year, according to average annual residential energy use data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Presently, the majority of the revenue collected by Comanche County comes by way of ad valorem taxes,” said Sherman Sides, Comanche County Commissioner Precinct 3. “The Logan’s Gap Wind facility will increase the county’s tax base dramatically as well as provide needed additional revenue for the county throughout the next 25 years.”

“We should all be proud that Logan’s Gap Wind was built using American-made turbines while creating hundreds of local jobs,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy. “Construction spending injected more than $5 million into the local economy, and, going forward, our Community Benefits Program will support local organizations, including the Comanche Youth Council. The facility will now harness the wind of Comanche County to produce clean energy for Walmart, one of America’s leading companies.”

Walmart has a 10-year power purchase agreement to acquire 58 percent of the expected output from the facility. Seventeen percent of the expected output will be sold under a 13-year fixed price agreement with a A-/Baa2-rated financial institution.  The remaining 25 percent of expected output will be sold at ERCOT spot market prices.

“Walmart has a goal to be supplied by 100-percent renewable energy, and sourcing from wind energy projects like the Logan’s Gap Wind Facility is a core component in the mix,” said Mark Vanderhelm, vice president of energy for Walmart. “The energy we’ll procure from this facility represents nearly one-fifth of the U.S. portion of our goal to source seven billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy by 2020. That’s a significant leap forward on our renewable energy journey.”

Logan’s Gap Wind utilizes 87 Siemens 2.3-MW wind turbines with a total capacity of 200 MW.

“Logan’s Gap represents the latest chapter in Texas’ wind energy success story and provides an outstanding example of how wind power can be used to help companies meet their energy needs,” said Jacob Andersen, CEO of Siemens Wind Power Americas. “Through our factories in Iowa and Kansas, Siemens has made a long-term commitment to the growth of wind power in America. We’re pleased to partner with Pattern Energy on a project that symbolizes our energy future, and Siemens’ wind service technicians will help ensure that the turbines at Logan’s Gap continue to operate reliably and efficiently.”

As part of its commitment to the communities where it operates, Pattern Energy created the Logan’s Gap Wind Community Benefits Program to support causes within the greater Comanche County community. Over the next five years, Logan’s Gap Wind will contribute $100,000 to the Logan’s Gap Wind Community Benefits Program, which will support the following local organizations that each provide a unique and critical service to the community of Comanche County:

• The Comanche County Agency on Aging

• The Salvation Army Food

• Assistance Program

• The Park Enhancement Group of Comanche

• The Comanche Youth Council

Construction of the wind power facility created hundreds of jobs. An average of 250 workers were on site during construction with up to 550 workers on site during peak activity. There are 12 full-time permanent workers to operate and maintain the facility.

Each year, the Logan’s Gap Wind facility will avoid the emission of 780,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide — equal to taking 153,000 cars off the roads — and conserves enough water to meet the needs of more than 9,000 Texans each year, according to statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and The University of Texas.

Located in ERCOT’s North Zone, the Logan’s Gap Wind facility connects to Oncor’s 138kV Comanche-Zephyr line, which crosses the facility site and supplies power to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

For more information, go to www.patternenergy.com. 

— Source: Pattern Energy
 

Equinix Signs Power Purchase Agreements that Bring Its North American Data Centers to 100-Percent Renewable Energy

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Equinix Signs Power Purchase Agreements that Bring Its North American Data Centers to 100-Percent Renewable Energy

Equinix, Inc., a global interconnection and data center company, recently announced that it has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) with an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources LLC and with Invenergy LLC to purchase wind energy in Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, which will cover all Equinix data centers throughout North America. These agreements will provide a combined 225 MW of capacity, bringing Equinix’s total renewable energy coverage in North America to 100 percent by the end of 2016 and nearly doubling its global renewable energy from 43 percent to 82 percent. Both projects will be fully deployed by the end of 2016.

The agreement with a NextEra Energy Resources affiliate includes the purchase of wind energy from the Rush Springs Renewable Generation Facility located in Grady and Stephens counties in Oklahoma. The agreement will provide 125 MW of capacity, resulting in approximately 556,000 MWhs of clean and renewable energy generated annually in Oklahoma and delivered into the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) regional electricity grid.

“NextEra Energy Resources is pleased to be working with Equinix on this project to help them meet their sustainability goals,” said John DiDonato, vice president of wind development at NextEra Energy Resources. “In addition to helping Equinix, this project will bring significant economic benefits to Stephens and Grady counties.”

The agreement with Invenergy includes the purchase of wind energy from the Wake Wind Energy Facility located in Floyd and Crosby counties in Texas. This agreement will provide 100 MW of capacity, resulting in approximately 457,000 MWhs of clean and renewable energy generated annually in Texas and delivered into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) regional electricity grid.

“As corporations like Equinix look for ways to reduce their emissions and improve their sustainability goals, Invenergy is committed to providing long-term clean energy to help them achieve those goals,” said Craig Gordon, vice president of sales and marketing at Invenergy.

“As a global data center leader, we truly understand the importance of operating our business in an environmentally sustainable way,” said Karl Strohmeyer, president of Equinix Americas. “These projects are two significant milestones toward our commitment of reaching 100-percent renewable power across all of our data centers across the globe and further solidify Equinix’s position as a leader in data center sustainability.”

For more information, go to www.equinix.com. 

— Source: Equinix
 

UMaine-Led Offshore Wind Project Receives Additional $3.7 Million from DOE

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UMaine-Led Offshore Wind Project Receives Additional $3.7 Million from DOE

The University of Maine-led New England Aqua Ventus I offshore wind project will be awarded an additional $3.7 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (subject to appropriations) to complete engineering and planning work and approach financial close.

In a joint statement, Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King announced that the funding is in addition to $3 million awarded by DOE in September 2014 to advance the design to deployment readiness.

“The continued confidence of the Department of Energy in the University of Maine’s Offshore Wind Demonstration Project speaks to the value of our research and development efforts and the great potential to make a difference in this state and beyond,” said UMaine President Susan J. Hunter. “This additional funding recognizes the significant technology advancements UMaine and its partners have made on this project in the past year, and it makes possible even greater progress. We appreciate the leadership and vision of Maine’s Congressional Delegation that have helped make this, and other federal funding, a reality for Maine.”

In May 2014, New England/Maine Aqua Ventus I was selected as an alternate by the DOE for the next phase of its Advanced Technology Demonstration Program, which started out with nearly 70 projects. At that time, the DOE provided UMaine with $3 million and noted that Maine’s VolturnUS technology, which was successfully demonstrated on a pilot scale near Castine, Maine, was highly favorable and innovative and that “with additional engineering and design, will further enhance the properties of American offshore wind technology options.”

Since then, the data collected from the single VolturnUS 1:8 scale turbine demonstrated the viability of the floating concrete and composites hull. VolturnUS 1:8 — the first grid-connected offshore wind turbine deployed off the coast of North America — was launched in Brewer, Maine, on May 31, 2013, by the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center and its partners. The prototype, which was the first concrete-composite floating platform wind turbine deployed in the world, remained off the coast of Castine, Maine, for 1.5 years.

More than 50 onboard sensors measured waves, wind, current, motions, and stresses on the floating platform. Relative to its 1:8 scale, the Castine unit saw 37 storms with return periods from 50 to 500 years, including relative wave heights equivalent to 70 feet. The data collected was used to further optimize the full-scale 6-MW concrete hull design. Over the past year, cost studies were conducted with contractors from Maine and across the U.S. and the world to demonstrate the cost-reduction advantages of the VolturnUS floating concrete hull technology.

“This extraordinary investment is proof that the DOE recognizes what we have long known: that the Gulf of Maine is a tremendous resource for wind energy that could provide an affordable source of renewable energy directly to the country’s population centers on the East Coast, while creating thousands of new jobs in Maine and diversifying the state’s electricity supply,” Sens. Collins and King said in their joint announcement. “We will continue to support the University of Maine as it participates in this demonstration program and to help ensure that Maine remains at the forefront of deepwater offshore wind power development and innovation.”

“We are pleased that the Department of Energy decided to award the University of Maine an additional $3.7 million to put the New England Aqua Ventus I Demonstration Project on financial par with the other DOE-funded offshore wind demonstration projects,” said Professor Habib Dagher, executive director of UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center and principal investigator of the DeepCwind Consortium. “We continue to make significant progress by demonstrating the technical advantages and cost reductions of the VolturnUS floating concrete offshore wind technology. Our team is busy putting the final touches on the design of the 6-MW hulls for the two-turbine, 12-MW demonstration project. The additional funding will help us complete all aspects of the project planning, negotiate supply contracts with industrial partners, and approach financial close for the project. The UMaine VolturnUS technology has important national impact as it allows us to more cost effectively access over 50 percent of the U.S. offshore wind resource in deepwaters within 50 miles of the coast and creates local and regional jobs as the hulls can be produced near the project site.”

New England/Maine Aqua Ventus is considered part of the DOE’s offshore wind portfolio under the Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects, along with projects in Virginia, New Jersey, Oregon, and Ohio.

Decisions on which of the five projects advance and receive an additional $40 million will be made by DOE by May 31, 2016, according to DOE.

For more information, go to www.umaine.edu.

— Source: University of Maine

Siemens Reduces Transport Costs for Offshore Wind Turbines by up to 20 Percent

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Siemens Reduces Transport Costs for Offshore Wind Turbines by up to 20 Percent

At EWEA 2015 in Paris, Siemens presented the company’s new offshore logistics concept. A key element of this is an improved transport solution. Siemens has signed a long-term framework contract with transport service provider deugro Danmark A/S, an international transport company, utilizing two purpose-built transport vessels to efficiently link Siemens’ existing production locations in Denmark with the new production facilities in Cuxhaven in Germany and Hull in the United Kingdom. Instead of loading the up-to-75-meter-long rotor blades and nacelles weighing approximately 360 metric tons by crane, the large and heavy components will be rolled on and off of these vessels. This “Roll-on/Roll-off” process is known as “Ro/Ro.” Siemens has utilized this method for many years. Based on this experience, the company’s experts have further developed the concept, and Deugro will provide tailor-made transport vehicles. Siemens estimates cost savings of 15 to 20 percent compared to current transport procedures, depending on the location of the offshore wind power plant.

“With our new logistics concept for D7 offshore wind turbines, we continue to leverage innovation and industrialization on our journey to lower the LCoE of offshore wind energy to below 10 cents per kilowatt hour,”” said Michael Hannibal, CEO of Offshore at Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division. “Our new production facilities are located directly at harbors to allow advanced Ro/Ro handling and cost efficient shipping of heavy components. This solution will enable us to save up to one-fifth of the costs in the transportation chain, depending on the location of the specific offshore wind project.”

New transport vessel for Siemens offshore wind turbines. Starting in 2017, Siemens will have a shipping link between its new plant in Cuxhaven and international installation ports on the North Sea. (Copyright: Deugro)
Starting in 2017, Siemens will have a shipping link between its new plant in Cuxhaven and international installation ports on the North Sea.

Deugro Danmark A/S will assist with shipping of the large Siemens components. Two special transport vessels will be constructed, each with a length of approximately 140 meters. One of the purpose-built vessels can transport eight nacelles of the current Siemens D7 wind turbine platform at a time. It will be launched as early as fall 2016. The second vessel will accommodate up to 12 rotor blades and transport them from the production facility in Hull, UK, or from Aalborg, Denmark, to the respective installation port. Both vessels can also be unloaded by crane when required. This enhances the flexibility of the installation ports, which are selected according to project-specific requirements.

In addition to the innovative cost-reducing transport concept, Siemens also presented optimization measures for installation and commissioning of offshore wind turbines. The D7 nacelle can be fully tested on the mainland. At the press conference, Michael Hannibal illustrated that comprehensive tests are planned directly in the future Cuxhaven production facility. Further improvements aim to shorten installation and commissioning times and to reduce weather-related project delays. All of these measures will be implemented in the next months and contribute to the industrialization of the entire value chain in an effort to make offshore wind energy increasingly affordable.

For more information, go to www.siemens.com/wind.

— Source: Siemens

Iowa State Engineers Test Taller Wind Turbine Towers Made from Precast Concrete

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Iowa State Engineers Test Taller Wind Turbine Towers Made from Precast Concrete

Hydraulic equipment in two civil engineering labs recently pushed and pulled at test sections of a new kind of wind turbine tower, simulating the heavy, twisting loads that towers have to withstand.

In Iowa State University’s Structural Engineering Research Laboratory, an actuator rocked a 12-foot-high and 6.5-foot-wide test section with 100,000 pounds of force every 1.25 seconds. The test section’s two panels and two columns only moved a tenth of an inch, but the movement was visible, especially the swaying of the long wires attached to 65 strain and displacement sensors.

Those sensors collected data 50 times every second over weeks of fatigue testing. Meanwhile, Hartanto Wibowo, an Iowa State postdoctoral research associate, was on the lookout for tiny cracks or any other signs of wear in the test section, particularly around the prestressing cables connecting the panels and columns.

An experiment at the University of Minnesota’s MAST Laboratory tested operational and extreme wind turbine tower loads on a full-scale cross section of a tower — an assembly that was 16 feet and 7 inches high, 8 feet in diameter, and included six panels and six columns tied together with prestressing cables. Engineers took data to see if the assembled tower pieces would hold up under the loads and whether they’d transfer the load from piece to piece and act as a single unit.

Figure 1

Sri Sritharan, Iowa State University’s Wilson Engineering Professor in civil, construction and environmental engineering and a member of the College of Engineering’s Wind Energy Initiative, said the tower cross section had no trouble resisting the loads, and preliminary data analysis confirms that observation.

The fatigue test is ongoing with no damage detected after nearly 200,000 load cycles.

“It’s fair to say these tests were a success,” Sritharan said. “I think we’ve made great progress in validating a new concept of using prefabricated concrete for taller wind turbine towers.”

The test sections aren’t anything like the 80-meter steel wind turbine towers seen all over the Iowa countryside. They’re easily transportable precast columns and panels made from high-strength or ultra-high-performance concrete. Those columns and panels are tied together by cables to form hexagon-shaped cells that can be stacked vertically to form towers as tall as 140 meters.

Iowa State University engineers call this taller tower technology “Hexcrete” and believe it could revolutionize the production of wind energy. Sritharan said taller Hexcrete towers have many advantages over today’s steel towers, including:

• The precast concrete pieces can be easily transported and assembled on-site.

• The technology engages precast concrete companies — an established American industry — in the wind energy business.

• Concrete towers can reach beyond 80 meters, providing energy companies with access to the faster and steadier winds at 100 meters and higher.

• Taller towers allow wind energy harvesting in regions of the country where energy demand is high and favorable winds are only above 100 meters.

• Hexcrete helps reduce the cost of wind energy by cutting the production and transportation costs of towers.

Current research and development of the Hexcrete towers is supported by an 18-month, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a grant of $83,500 from the Iowa Energy Center, and $22,500 of in-kind contributions from Lafarge North America Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The project’s industry partners also include the Siemens Corp.’s Corporate Technology center in Princeton, New Jersey; Coreslab Structures (OMAHA) Inc. of Bellevue, Nebraska; and BergerABAM of Federal Way, Washington.

Sritharan’s Iowa State research team also includes Julienne Krennrich, project manager and assistant director of the Engineering Research Institute; Shibin Lin, a postdoctoral research associate; and Bin Cai and Robert Peggar, doctoral students.

“Now our goal is to build a full tower in the field,” Sritharan said. “Our intent is to identify partners who can work with us on a prototype tower. We’ll also work to develop a commercialization plan.”

To advance those efforts, Sritharan’s research group will host technical and commercialization workshops next year. For more information about the workshops and the Hexcrete project, go to sri.cce.iastate.edu/hexcrete.

To watch a short video that shows how Hexcrete cells could be assembled into taller wind turbine towers, search for “120-m Tall Hexcrete Tower Assembly Options” on YouTube. 

— Source: Iowa State University
 

Consortium Plans To Build Floating Offshore Wind Farm in Portugal

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Consortium Plans To Build Floating Offshore Wind Farm in Portugal

EDP Renewables (EDPR), Mitsubishi Corporation (through its subsidiary Diamond Generating Europe), Chiyoda Corporation (through its subsidiary Chiyoda Generating Europe), Engie, and Repsol recently announced an agreement to implement a floating offshore wind farm off the coast of Northern Portugal known as the WindFloat Atlantic (WFA) project.

The project, located 20 km off the Portuguese coast at Viana do Castelo, is planned to be operational in 2018 and will consist of three or four wind turbines on floating foundations, accounting for a total capacity of 25 MW. WFA will benefit from the support of the European Commission through the NER 300 program and the Portuguese Government through the Portuguese Carbon Fund. It was also selected for the InnovFin program by the European Investment Bank.

The consortium will use the WindFloat technology, an innovative semi-submersible foundation developed by Principle Power, Inc. This technology was already implemented in a first-of-its-kind prototype called WindFloat 1 near Póvoa do Varzim. It is comprised of a 2-MW Vestas V80 commercial wind turbine mounted on a WindFloat floating offshore wind turbine foundation.

The prototype has already produced more than 16 GWh over almost four years of operation, performing excellently through extreme weather conditions. Its successful results have been key for the creation of this consortium and the launch of the WindFloat Atlantic project, the aim of which is to demonstrate the economic potential and reliability of this technology while advancing it further in the path toward commercialization.

This project represents a key step forward in establishing the WindFloat technology as a leader in deepwater offshore wind power generation.

For more information, go to www.edpr.com. 

— Source: EDP Renewables

Profile: Crane Service, Inc.

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Profile: Crane Service, Inc.

Founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1960, Crane Service, Inc., a subsidiary of M-L Holdings Company Crane Group, has served as a leading crane services provider for the heavy-rigging industry. In 1996, the company propelled itself into the wind industry through its partnership with the Zond Corporation of California, which was acquired by Enron Wind Systems in 1997 and later bought out by GE in 2001.

Bob Warianka, the business development manager, started working for Crane Service, Inc. in 1996, which was also when the company worked on its first wind turbine in Fort Davis, south of Sweetwater, Texas.  

“We did a small 65-meter turbine for them,” Warianka said. “Then, we found out that what we like doing in the wind industry is the maintenance. Competition is a little tough there on the new projects. We didn’t have enough cranes to supply a huge project and put a big wind farm together, but we did have enough supply and services to do the maintenance end of it.”

Figure 1

So, that’s what they did. Crane Service, Inc. has become a leader in the industry by specializing in operated crane rentals and services. Those services include lifting components to the crews on-site and facilitating their ability to perform inspections and maintenance to the turbines.

“The services that we do and have done in the past include blade inspection, so we can hoist a man basket so that the crews can check the surface and leading edge of the blades where wildlife may have hit it or some other natural element such as lightning, rain, or hail has struck the blade,” said Chris Martin, marketing coordinator at M-L Holdings Company Crane Group.  

Martin also said that they can hoist down the rotor assembly itself so the maintenance crews can change out blades or service the hub.

“You see a lot of gearboxes and yaw drives or motors being changed out, and that will actually rotate the nacelle,” Martin said. “There’s a lot of different work that these wind turbines require, and we’re here to help make that work happen.”

According to Warianka, for small, light loads, Crane Service, Inc. may even provide transportation in an over-the-road truck to help the customer move the transformer around their yard.

“We don’t do the heavy haul for the nacelle or the long blade haul that requires a specialized trailer, but we do help them on stuff that is a legal load that we can haul,” Warianka said.

Figure 2

“Our crews are definitely efficient and fast and do great work,” Warianka said. “We come in, do the job, replace whatever they need — whether it be the generator itself, a gearbox, a blade, or whatever component they need lifted — get in and out efficiently for the customer, and move on to the next site.”

Crane Service, Inc.’s massive fleet of cranes varies from all-terrain cranes and boom trucks to forklifts and rigging systems. Its equipment also ranges from 8.5- to 550-ton lifting loads.

In the last 20 years, Crane Service, Inc. has made its mark in the wind energy industry by supplying crawler cranes to wind farm owners and manufacturers and assisting in the installation of more than 30 wind farm projects and towers.

One example of the company’s role in the wind industry was with the Trent Wind Farm, also known as the Trent Mesa Wind Project — the first wind farm Crane Service, Inc. completed in 2001. Trent Mesa is a 150-MW wind power plant in West Texas that utilizes 100 turbines each rated at 1.5 MW.

Crane Service, Inc. has also completed maintenance work at the Judith Gap Wind Farm, one of Montana’s largest wind projects with 90 80-meter turbines, as well as the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, one of the world’s largest wind farms located in Taylor and Nolan counties, Texas.

More recently, Martin said that the company has partnered with Infigen Energy, an owner, operator, and developer of utility-scale renewable energy projects in the U.S. and Australia, to install vibration-monitoring technology in their gearboxes to determine when the components would fail.

Figure 3

“They were reporting that five of their towers were about to fail, and they had no idea when that was going to happen,” Martin said. “It could be tomorrow, eight months from now, or two years from now, but they know that they’re at that stage in life where they could be failing. We went out there with a crane we had just purchased and were able to lift their whole rotor assembly off, drop it to the ground, change out the gearbox, and do all of their maintenance work for them. The customer came back and was impressed that we were able to acquire this equipment for their job and get it done since all of our other cranes were currently on rent with other wind projects or other construction projects.”

One of Crane Service, Inc.’s greatest strengths is its location. Its crane services span across the entire Southwest with locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Amarillo, Texas; Aztec, New Mexico; Sweetwater, Texas; and El Paso, Texas. The company has assisted with and completed projects in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Iowa, and Idaho and has worked as far north as Colorado.

According to Warianka, the amount of experience Crane Service, Inc. brings to the table also sets it apart from some of its competitors in the wind industry.

“We’re a growing company and a young company, but we’re reliable and we provide the best service with the most modern fleet of cranes,” Warianka said. “We’re open to new ideas all the time, and we’re looking for people to join our group. We have a really good team here, and we have employees who are third generation working here. We’re really proud of that. I’ve been here 19-plus years, and I wish I had come here sooner. It’s a great place to work.”

As for the future, Martin said Crane Service, Inc. is prepared to serve the growing wind industry.

Figure 4

“We have many projects lined up near the end of the year and early next year for wind park work,” Martin said. “Our crawler crane fleet, large hydraulic cranes, and lattice boom cranes are constantly performing maintenance and construction on wind parks throughout the Southwest.

“We see new projects in the works, and we’re still doing maintenance, of course, because even when you see a decline in new parts or new sites, you still have thousands of turbines that need to be serviced regularly as they’re coming out of contract,” Martin said. “For us, it looks good.”

Warianka shares Martin’s optimism for the future of the wind energy industry and Crane Service, Inc.’s role in it.

“They’re building new wind farms every day, and the technology is increasing,” Warianka said. “They’re finding out what’s the most reasonable to run a wind farm and what can make it a cheaper energy for everyone to live on. Wind is a green, free, and renewable source of energy. It’s not going away.” 

Conversation with Rob Lee

Wind Systems staff
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Conversation with Rob Lee

Tell us about the company and how it became involved in the wind industry.

Wanzek was founded in 1971 on heavy/civil and concrete projects. We are now going on our 45th year and are a subsidiary of MasTec, Inc. — a leading specialty contractor. We offer construction services for the power, renewable energy, oil and gas, heavy/civil, and industrial agriculture industries as well as specialty services including wind O&M, crane services, oil field services, and construction consulting services. We entered the wind industry in the 2000s and quickly began providing services to some of the biggest names in the industry. Our growth has been due largely to repeat clients, and we are proud to have retained many of our first clients while continuing to form new relationships. We have successfully completed projects throughout the United States and have expanded into Canada and Puerto Rico. We are headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota, with an office in Alexander, North Dakota. We also have a maintenance facility in West Fargo. Our employee count varies with project load from 600 to over 1,000.

How does Wanzek best serve the wind energy industry, and what are the various construction services it offers?

We have established a strong portfolio of successful wind projects, with over 6500 MW of wind generation capacity installed for some of the leading companies in the wind industry. We also offer wind O&M services specializing in large-scale corrective work; civil and SWPP maintenance; and substation and collection system inspection and repair. We continue to invest in our fleet, which has earned us recognition on American Crane & Transport magazine’s list of Largest Crane Owning Companies.

What are some important aspects with completing a wind project?

Wind projects are very hands-on. A consistent level of attention, coordination, and communication is required to successfully complete a project. Our teams work closely with owners to develop detailed budgets and construction schedules, address a myriad of challenges,and complete civil and electrical design. On a typical project, during construction, the project manager meets with the owner or owner representative multiple times a day by phone and on-site weekly. Everyone on the team, from the owner to the superintendents to our field force, stay informed regarding project status, any challenges that have been presented, and the chosen method for handling them.

What are some of the challenges associated with the construction of a wind farm?

Two of the big challenges are geographical spread and inclement weather. Wind farms are generally constructed over hundreds of square miles. Many of the areas that have the expanse of land needed for a wind farm also have months of inclement weather that make construction a challenge.

What role does communication play in overcoming those challenges?

Communication is critical to keeping a project on track. As part of a larger efficiency initiative, Wanzek is focusing on mobile solutions in the field. We actively implement the use of job-site mobile devices including smartphones and site kiosks and have introduced tablets. Use of these devices drives efficiencies through on-site, real-time data-capturing that facilitates better information processing and decision-making. Technology is a communication tool that allows us to integrate our teams, evaluate our processes, and develop effective solutions for successful project completion.

What sets Wanzek apart from other companies like it in the industry?

Wanzek’s growth has been in direct response to client needs. Our success in wind construction has led to an expansion into wind O&M services. We offer lean and continuous improvement facilitation at the onset of a project as well as consultation with a master black belt facilitator to assist early in a project to ensure lean and efficient processes.

What can our readers expect to see from Wanzek in the future?

Wanzek’s client-focused approach will continue to drive our growth. We always focus on safety and quality as well as invest in employee training and our wholly owned fleet of state-of-the-art specialty construction equipment. In the future, we will push innovation and technology. By capturing pertinent information on mobile devices, in the field, on a daily basis and integrating that information with our back-end systems, we are able to provide our field and corporate management teams with real-time information, adding value to the life cycle of our projects.  We are also working toward a more proactive approach to information gathering by generating reports and dashboards that are predictive, not just reactive.

Phone: (701) 282-6171
Email: constructors@wanzek.com
Webpage: www.wanzek.com
Facebook: /wanzekconstruction
Twitter: @WanzekConst

Composite Electroless Nickel Coatings for the Wind Energy Industry Varieties and Performance Advantages

Michael D. Feldstein
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Composite Electroless Nickel Coatings for the Wind Energy Industry Varieties and Performance Advantages

Coatings can be advantageous, and, in many applications, they are essential for proper performance, protection, lifetime, and many other factors. Therefore, selecting the proper coating for each application is vital. But choosing the right coating for components used in the wind energy industry is especially challenging because parts used in the wind industry come in a tremendous array of shapes, sizes, and base metals and are utilized in an equally exceptional range of climates, requirements, and usage conditions.

One category of coatings that can enhance many applications in the wind industry is composite electroless nickel plating. Electroless nickel (EN) is a sophisticated and reliable chemical process with many inherent features well-suited to applications in the wind industry including hardness, corrosion resistance, and perfect conformity to even the most complex geometries. Composites are formed with the addition of super fine particles into the EN. These particles can provide hardness, wear resistance, low friction, release, heat transfer, high friction, and/or even identification and authentication properties.

This paper discusses all varieties of composite EN (CEN) that take advantage of the synergies between EN and particles to dramatically enhance existing characteristics and even add entirely new properties. This makes CEN coatings especially advantageous for applications in the wind industry to:

1. Meet ever more demanding usage conditions requiring less wear, lower friction, and heat transfer.

2. Facilitate the use of new substrate materials such as titanium, aluminum, lower cost steel alloys, ceramics, and plastics.

3. Allow higher productivity of equipment with greater speeds, less wear, and less maintenance efforts and downtime.

4. Replace environmentally problematic coatings such as electroplated chromium.

As shown in Image 1, CEN coatings will naturally maintain their properties and performance even as some portions of the coating may be worn or removed during use. This feature results from the uniform manner with which the particles are dispersed throughout the entire plated layer. Particles from a few nanometers up to about 50 microns in size can be incorporated into coatings from a few microns up to many mils (0.001 inch) in thickness. The particles can comprise approximately 10 to over 40 percent by volume of the coating depending on the particle size and application.

WEAR RESISTANCE
Coatings designed for increased wear resistance have proven to be the most widely utilized CEN coatings in the wind industry to date. Particles of many hard materials such as diamond, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, tungsten carbide, and boron carbide can be used. But the unsurpassed hardness of diamond has made this material the most common composite. Despite the expensive-sounding name, CEN with diamond is actually comparable to the cost of similar coatings, yet the performance advantages are far greater. These coatings are also inherently beneficial to the environment as they make parts last longer, reducing scrap, and often save energy.

The Taber Wear Test is the most common test method employed to evaluate wear resistance of different materials and coatings. It evaluates the resistance of surfaces to abrasive rubbing produced by the sliding rotation of two unlubricated, abrading wheels against a rotating sample. This test measures the worn weight or volume. The Taber results in Table 1 demonstrate the highly superior wear resistance of a composite diamond-EN coating versus other surface treatments and a hardened tool steel.

More practical and relevant than standardized test results are, of course, actual performance benefits experienced in real-life wind industry applications. In that regard, CEN coatings have the ability to make high-wear components last significantly longer and thereby reduce the need or frequency for maintenance or replacement. For a bearing, rotor, gear, housing, and many other wind system components installed in very inconvenient locations in all sorts of environments on- and offshore, the ability to extend their life is of exemplary value.

HEAT TRANSFER
Diamond is not only the hardest material known, it is also the best conductor of heat. Fortunately for wind energy components where it is advantageous to draw heat away from the component, the incorporation of diamond in a CEN coating can provide this benefit as well. Prime examples are electrical components, heat sinks, and any component operating in thinner atmospheres where heat transfer is compromised. In testing comparing aluminum to EN and CEN with diamond and CEN with carbide particles, the CEN with diamond yielded a 20-percent heat transfer increase over aluminum.

LOW FRICTION
Certain particles can be incorporated into EN to produce a coating with all the properties of EN as well as a low coefficient of friction. Although these composite coatings also provide wear resistance benefits, they are considered in a separate category based on the unique characteristics they embody — dry lubrication, improved release properties, and repellency of contaminants such as water and oil.

Composite coatings with lubricating particles are generally in thicknesses of 6-25 microns (0.00025” to 0.001”), which is thinner than coatings typically designed for wear resistance. Most commercial interest in composite lubricating coatings has focused on the incorporation of sub-micron Teflon® (PTFE) particles into EN deposits. The properties of PTFE are widely recognized from industrial applications to frying pans.

But, as with wear-resistant particles, there are a variety of low-friction particles that produce self-lubricating properties when co-deposited into EN. Materials other than PTFE have become increasingly popular in the plating field, especially certain specialty ceramics. PTFE is organic and decomposes at temperatures above 250°C. By contrast, many ceramic lubricating materials are harder and withstand higher temperatures than PTFE. As PTFE is a very soft material, its inclusion in EN makes the composite coating comparatively softer, especially as the percentage of PTFE increases. Higher temperature resistance permits higher post-plating heat treatment temperatures yielding greater hardness of the EN matrix. These factors make the composite ceramic lubricant coatings harder and more wear resistant than PTFE-EN in many conditions.

Table 2 shows the coefficients of friction for a variety of coatings under different load conditions. Boron nitride (BN) is one such inorganic material with lubricating properties. It has the ability to withstand temperatures up to 3,000°C depending on the atmosphere; and, as demonstrated in Table 2, composite EN with boron nitride has a lower coefficient of friction than composite EN-PTFE under higher load conditions. For the highly demanding components in the wind industry, the ability to apply thicker and harder CEN’s with materials like BN are highly advantageous for both performance and service reliability.

HIGH FRICTION
While many moving components in wind energy equipment require low friction, others benefit from deliberately textured surfaces to allow friction or grip between mating surfaces. One example is assemblies with adjacent components where one engages with the other and transfers motion or breaking to the other. In such applications, a lightly textured surface can enhance this engagement. CEN coatings with a variety of carbides, oxides, diamond, and other particles can provide this textured surface, as shown in Image 2 where such particles can be seen protruding from the surface of the CEN coating. For such applications, the particles are sized from 10 to about 75 microns, which is significantly larger than the smooth coatings used primarily for wear resistance that employ particles less than 10 microns in size.

INDICATION
The following four sections show a variety of synergistic coatings with valuable identification and authentication properties for unique benefits for wind industry applications.

Phosphorescence
One method to create coatings for authentication is to incorporate particles with light-emitting properties into EN coatings. These novel coatings appear like normal EN under traditional lighting (sun, incandescent, fluorescent, etc.), but under an ultraviolet (UV) light, these coatings emit a distinct brightly colored glow. A person simply needs to shine a hand-held, battery-operated UV light on parts to display the light emission of a composite EN coating and thereby confirm the authenticity of the parts. As there are a number of materials that fluoresce under UV light, it is possible to produce a variety of EN coatings that each give off a different color glow when a UV light source is shined on the coating.

Image 3

This coating variety can also be used under a functional coating such as CEN to demonstrate wear to avoid damage to the part itself. With a thin layer of a light-emitting coating between the substrate and the functional coating, an operator may then inspect the part periodically with a portable UV light, often while the part is still in use. Once colored light is observed, it is known that the functional coating has worn away. The part can then be recoated and reused before substrate damage to the part itself occurs and before inferior product is produced. In the wind energy industry, such a feature can be of tremendous value to allow inspection of a component without the cost of part removal and downtime.

Image 4

Forensic Markers
While the composite phosphorescent-EN coatings are a useful technology for many applications, other applications require an even greater need for covert authentication. This can be accomplished by the use of certain forensic markers, which are a family of materials that have been developed using unique substances and can be detected by an electronic meter. The test is non-invasive, instantaneous, and infinitely repeatable. These materials are chemically inert, safe, and strong enough to persist in almost any conditions including an EN plating bath and heat treatment. Only small amounts of the ceramic-based materials need to be co-deposited into the EN coating to make their properties evident to the electronic meter. Therefore, the slight presence of the material in the coating is not readily visible and essentially does not affect the performance of the coating in other regards such as wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and friction.

There are dozens of such materials that can be used alone or in combination to create a unique marking or tracking system that can be embedded in almost any material or coating from paints and powder coating to CEN. This creates many new opportunities for product management, manufacturing process and logistics control, inventory management, quality assurance, and pollution control and authentication — all necessities in the global wind systems market.

Image 5

Sound Activating
A further variety of authentication coating technology has been developed that actually allows the coating to activate a small detector to produce an audible report. This innovative technology is similar to that by using forensic markers since only a small quantity of specialized materials need to be incorporated into the coating to trigger the response of the detector. The test is instantaneous and generates a clear pass or fail indication. The detector is small and battery-operated for economy and convenience, which can be essential to the maintenance technicians and others in the wind energy industry.

Micro Taggants
This variety of coating technology provides a fourth means of authentication of a product simply by inspection of the surface under magnification. A key to making this type of coating useful in authentication and product protection is that the micro taggants are manufactured by a complex and proprietary process.

The ability to customize the taggants in these ways means that their design can be modified on a continual basis to thwart counterfeiters or incorporate product identification and tracking information right on the surface of the product within a hard and durable coating.

Image 6

MULTI-LAYER COMPOSITE EN SOLUTIONS
Underlayers
When a degree of corrosion resistance is needed above the level already provided by a CEN coating, as is often the case in wind energy equipment, it is routine to apply an underlayer to a part before it is coated with a CEN. This underlayer is most often a high phosphorous alloy of EN. This provides a barrier layer for corrosion, and the outward functional layer will still be the CEN for part performance.

Overcoating
Overcoating is a procedure often utilized for composite wear-resistant coatings. Composites containing particles (as discussed earlier) are smooth to the touch and sufficient for most applications. When the coating is intended to contact certain delicate materials, these protruding particles may be deleterious or require a break-in period of use to smooth the surface. A break-in period is a luxury that most applications in wind energy equipment cannot afford. So, instead of employing mechanical means to smooth the surface, and instead of operating a coated part for a less productive break-in period, an overcoat can be applied. For a CEN coating, an overcoat layer of only about 5 microns of conventional EN is sufficient to cover the composite surface and provide a new, smoother surface.

CONCLUSION
The performance requirements of components used in the wind energy industry are exceptionally diverse. They range from wear resistance, low friction, high friction, heat transfer, and authentication to identification. For this reason, the ability to tailor CEN coatings with an array of synergistic particles makes these coatings uniquely beneficial for applications in the wind energy industry. 

1  Teflon® is a registered trademark of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.
 

Condition Monitoring Does Not Need To Be Overwhelming

Jeff Walkup
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Condition Monitoring Does Not Need To Be Overwhelming

While condition monitoring has a rather simple definition, it is only when we are caught up in “analysis paralysis” syndrome that our minds get in the way and a common sense Czar is required with regards to our thinking. Performance, operations, and engineering managers are overwhelmed with information when what they need is insight and to be told what is required and when.

Condition monitoring can be defined as the process of systematic data collection and evaluation to identify changes in performance or condition of a system or its components, such that remedial action may be planned in a cost-effective manner to maintain operational reliability, productivity, and profitability.

In the wind energy industry, thousands, if not millions, of data points are collected every second through methods such as real-time sensors installed to monitor conditions including temperature, lubricant conditions, drive train vibrations, turbine production, generator output, and weather conditions. This information is typically fed into an online recording system and analyzed through sophisticated algorithms to determine if the data point is within acceptable limits. When an alert level is reached, most systems will flag it according to criticality and issue a predetermined maintenance decision that includes some type of corrective action.

Unfortunately, this is where most of these sophisticated systems stop and the completion of the ensuing maintenance work is turned over to a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. ERP is a business-management software (typically a suite of integrated applications) that an organization can use to collect, store, manage, and interpret data from many business activities including product planning and cost; manufacturing or service delivery; marketing and sales; inventory management; and shipping and payment.

While these systems by design are excellent at managing tasks (work orders) and parts (inventory and procurement), they often lack the necessary depth or detail to facilitate the full maintenance workflow of inspection, troubleshooting, repair, and documentation of the defect. This is typically left in the hands of the technician with little more than a one-line task description (i.e., perform borescope on gearbox, inspect bearings for flaking, change oil and filters, etc.).

While most experienced technicians are capable of performing the maintenance workflow and restoring the turbine to a normal state, they often require access to additional resources in order to complete the work, such as equipment history, specific defect troubleshooting, and repair procedures created from previous similar defects, as well as OEM or engineering technical advice. This is often difficult to obtain while up-tower performing the work. This can be quite overwhelming for a less-experienced technician and lead to significant downtime in order to address anything but the simplest defect.

When the work is finally completed, any documentation that is recorded is typically paper-based and minimally detailed. A CMMS or ERP system usually only requires minimum feedback from the work performed, such as an update of the task status to be completed or closed, indicating that the work was indeed performed. It is only through the initiative of dedicated technicians or maintenance clerks that additional detailed information, such as inspection findings, performed work activities, and any identified additional work requirements, make it into these available systems due to the limited tools available or the complexity of entering such information. The limitations of this process usually only surface at the next maintenance service when a different technician attempts to perform work on the same turbine and discovers the limited or nonexistent historical information to reference.

In an environment of rapid growth, employee turnover, and cost pressures, the challenge for wind farm owners and operators is to better manage this maintenance workflow and data collection/feedback loop. Some of the financial and performance benefits of improving this process include increased turbine reliability and availability, a reduction in overall downtime (particularly mean time to repair) leading to a reduction in overall maintenance costs, and improved employee output and knowledge.

Based on experience and collaboration with experts from other global industries over the past 20 years, I have identified some key gaps. I would like to highlight just a few characteristics of an effective maintenance workflow and feedback process that, when combined with a well-organized condition monitoring program, can leverage vibration and oil analysis, allowing for better, more informed decisions.

Condition monitoring in a 360-degree holistic approach provides the potential tools and abilities to make your operations better in the following ways:

• The ability and process to capture and leverage the experience and knowledge of the entire workforce through a knowledge management system that is readily accessible when performing maintenance activities.

• Tools that allow expert collaboration over defect resolution while the technician is performing the maintenance work, either through live access to experts or technical information.

• Tools that simplify field inspection and data capture, including photos, notes, and quantitative measurements, eliminating the need for paper-based recording, the additional time needed to do so, and error-prone inefficiency when simple things have to be hand-written.

• Historical data presentation so previous maintenance work is available for reference. (The old saying that what gets measured gets done, is true.)

• Ability to determine the effectiveness of maintenance work and not just the completion of the task, such as was the defect removed, as well as KPI metrics to measure.

• Historically used oil and grease analysis compared bulk lubricants within service lubricants; typically, oil sampling that is taken and sent to a testing lab takes place approximately every six months. Test results from oil compare the condition of the lubricant in service as well as the wear anomalies that may be taking place. These are identified within the lubricant and filters as applicable. The development of Best Practices and Consistency is vital and can go a long way on lubricant change on condition.

• Regarding condition monitoring, ensuring proper sensor sensitivity ranges as well as installation locations and knowing your drive train configurations and kinematic details is extremely important.

• Setting alert levels, alarms, and recommended actions that are achievable use the power of fleet benchmarking.

• Know your assets and ensure your work force is properly trained to do their jobs, since often we see that the only training they may have received was from a previous employer.

• Finally, take charge by using all data and information available and do not rely on just one particular technology; instead, use all that is at your disposal since each will have inherent strengths versus another.

In conclusion, with condition monitoring, a world of information is at your disposal. What’s most  important is what you choose to do with it. Will you be an early adopter creating opportunities for yourself and your organization, or will you chase after opportunities while the world around you passes you by? 
 

Schneider Electric Offers Most Comprehensive Support Package in the Wind Market

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Schneider Electric Offers Most Comprehensive Support Package in the Wind Market

It’s no secret that wind farm operators, like all renewable energy generators, struggle with maximizing power generation. In addition to performing maintenance at optimal times, wind farm operators have the added challenge of needing to know when the wind speeds they rely on to generate power might actually damage operating turbines.

To overcome these challenges, Schneider Electric is releasing two new solutions that will help the wind power industry maximize generation, efficiency, and crew safety.

First, turbine blade inspection reports to help wind farm operators efficiently respond to lightning strikes, a leading cause of blade damage and unplanned outages. Using Schneider Electric’s lightning tracking technology, this solution offers operators a daily data report that lists all lightning activity in the past 24 hours, including the likelihood that turbines within a given area were struck. The solution benefits users by:

• Allowing a more efficient inspection and repair process, as crews know which turbines may need attention and can prioritize their inspection and maintenance schedules

• Improving lightning damage detection that allows blades to be repaired before damage progresses, reducing overall blade repair costs and turbine downtime

• Providing useful information such as the affected turbine’s name/ID, lightning strike date and time, and the exact location and intensity of the strike

• Offering a customizable strike confidence level, which allows customers to tailor their report by choosing the degree of confidence that a strike occurred within a certain number of meters

• Sharing the most updated forecast information with operators through Weather Sentry Online or a mobile application, ensuring better safety in the field

• These reports can ultimately save wind farm operators thousands of dollars in blade repair and replacement costs. Lightning damage is not always easily visible, but it can lead to larger issues if undetected — a very real possibility in a wind farm that is operating dozens, if not hundreds, of turbines. By detecting strike damage early, operators save money and significant time as they no longer have to visually determine whether any strikes came close to the turbines.

• In addition to lightning, wind-related intelligence is also important when enhancing efficiency and crew safety. Schneider Electric’s hub height wind forecasts solution provides hourly wind speed and direction forecasts at typical turbine heights as opposed to the ground speed forecasts normally available. With this technology, wind farm operators can make better informed operation and maintenance scheduling decisions to maximize generation, benefiting from the following:

• Highly accurate hourly forecasts at the three most popular turbine hub heights — 80, 100, and 120 meters — which are more useful than standard forecasts at 10 meters

• Operators can confidently schedule maintenance not only when it is safe for crews but also during periods of lowest generation capacity

• Minimizing generation loss from turbines damaged when operating in excessive wind conditions

• Improved generation capacity forecasting with more accurate and timely forecast information

These new solutions enhance Schneider Electric’s support package for the wind market that already includes highly accurate wind power forecasts and a complete lightning safety solution. Together, these offerings represent the most comprehensive wind power support solution available on the market.

For more information, go to www.se.com/uk/en.

— Source: Schneider Electric

Centrica Energy Benefits from Romax Insight’s Wind Farm Solution Services

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Centrica Energy Benefits from Romax Insight’s Wind Farm Solution Services

A multi-national integrated energy business and parent company of British Gas, Centrica Energy has 27.9 million customer accounts and a total operating profit of £1.7 bn. Romax InSight wind energy services support the company’s Lincs, Lynn and Inner Dowsing (LID) wind farms with an all-in-one fleet monitoring solution including monitoring, inspecting, giving advice, and performing grease flushing and root cause analysis.

Romax has supported Centrica Energy’s co-owned LID wind farms for almost three years by analyzing data, providing monthly performance and condition reports, and advising on lead times to major component failure.  

In one particular investigation, vibration increases prompted main bearing inspections to confirm micropitting damage and metallic debris in the grease. This was closely monitored by Romax over the winter months to ensure the damage did not reach a critical level when turbine access is limited. When the weather improved, Romax deployed its patented flushing process to remove the contaminated grease and allow a complete inspection of the downwind main bearing on both sides. After repacking with fresh grease, to improve the operating conditions of the rolling elements, post-flush condition monitoring of both the vibration and SCADA data was performed. The results showed a plateau in the vibration levels in the bearing and a reduction in operating temperature of between 5°C and 10°C, meaning the life of the component was extended and it could be removed from service at the same time as other remedial works.

“Romax provides technical insights to guide our investigations, to ensure turbines operate more reliably, and to have an extended lifespan, which allows us to better protect and leverage our investments,” said Tom Kent, senior wind turbine engineer at Centrica Energy. “Romax helps us to understand and control rising O&M costs. We have the peace of mind that we are highly unlikely to experience a serial drivetrain issue any time soon, and we have an opportunity to optimize the smooth running of our operations and energy production as well as to reduce the overall cost of energy.”

To find out more about the benefits that Centrica Energy found through Romax’ InSight offerings, go to www.romaxtech.com, click on the Customers tab, and then select Case Studies.

For more information, go to www.romaxtech.com. 

— Source: Romax Technology

DNV GL Launches New Software Tool To Reduce Product Development Time and Cost of Wind Turbines

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DNV GL Launches New Software Tool To Reduce Product Development Time and Cost of Wind Turbines

DNV GL, the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body, recently released Turbine.Architect, a new in-house software tool enabling turbine engineers and component developers to quickly calculate the impact of their technology on levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for a realistic wind project. Turbine.Architect uses sophisticated, integrated design algorithms based on decades of design and bladed experience. DNV GL conducted the first public demonstration of Turbine.Architect’s capabilities at the annual European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) event in Paris.

Turbine.Architect supports turbine design and component technology development by quantification of the technical impact of design and component technology on both the turbine system and the entire wind farm, from the foundation to the electrical infrastructure. Turbine.Architect computes realistic values for the capital costs of turbine, balance of plant components, farm operational costs, availability, and farm annual energy production.

The tool’s validated engineering models produce concept-level technical specifications for turbine components and farm items with up-to-date market intelligence translating these specifications into appropriate capital costs. Similarly, operational costs and availability are quantified using models for operations and maintenance that are benchmarked with real field data. Its method to estimate energy production includes losses from rotor aerodynamics, drive train components, and farm wakes, the latter by linking with DNV GL WindFarmer. Turbine.Architect also contains a discounted cash flow model where estimated costs and yield are escalated to LCOE and Net Present Value (NPV).

The tool is built on the basis of algorithms and many years’ worth of analysis and development performed by DNV GL’s turbine design experts. As well as quick LCOE calculations at the early phases of a given project, the tool allows users to overwrite various components in favor of informing the model with the results from other tools or analysis. The user may then do everything from high-level screening of potential wind turbine design projects to detailed assessment of a specific system or component level technology innovation in the same tool, providing a unified way of presenting costs and calculating LCOE. The flexibility of the tool also allows the user to test various cost reduction opportunities and perform sensitivity analysis, with the overarching objective of supporting an LCOE-driven design process.

The Turbine.Architect service already supported an undisclosed supplier of advanced wind turbine blades and helped steer the development of their advanced technology for biggest LCOE gains. The short times needed to setup Turbine.Architect, run it, and analyze the results proved instrumental. It allowed DNV GL to work alongside the customer and provide inputs that were both technically sound and on time. Further, the holistic view offered by Turbine.Architect provided engineering facts to debunk some lingering opinions that might have resulted in a sub-optimal technology. The end result was an advanced blade concept with the right balance between cost, mass, loads, and aerodynamic efficiency.

“Turbine.Architect has been created by our experts to reduce the risk when designing wind turbine,” said Ben Hendriks, head of section engineering at DNV GL. “Not only does it save a great deal of time — producing a concept design in a matter of minutes rather than days — it also offers a means for those without the time or necessary expertise to still forge ahead in the industry. By offering LCOE-driven design support, we are able to guarantee our customers an improved final result to their project — a faster time-to-market with a more competitive product. By using Turbine.Architect in all design stages of a project, a component designer can play around with various elements, allowing them the freedom to swiftly trial different ideas. We are offering this service to all OEMs and suppliers of key components, whether they are already a DNV GL customer or not.”

DNV GL launched the new tool including a live demonstration at its booth at the EWEA annual event in Paris.

For more information, go to www.dnvgl.com. 

— Source: DNV GL
 

Moventas Introduces Breakthrough Suite of Technologies Known As XL – Extra Life

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Moventas Introduces Breakthrough Suite of Technologies Known As XL – Extra Life

Moventas, a leading wind gearbox manufacturer and service provider, recently announced a breakthrough suite of technologies known as XL – Extra Life, which is designed to address the failures of the gearboxes in the GE 1.5 fleet in North America. The XL for GE 1.5 gearbox is the culmination of 35 years of wind gearbox expertise Moventas gained repairing GE 1.5 gearboxes, and it will carry the industry’s most comprehensive five-year warranty that covers both crane costs and turbine downtime.

The XL for GE 1.5 is the most reliable and lowest total cost of ownership replacement gearbox available as all significant failure modes have been tackled. Possibly the most important feature of the XL is the industry’s strongest planet stage. The planet stage for the XL has a special case carburized structure with integrated planetary bearings and improved pitting safety.

In addition to the strongest planetary stage, there are several key technical upgrades. The XL’s upgraded bearings address white etch cracking bearing failures that plague all gearboxes. Additionally, its upgraded raw material specifications for the intermediate and high-speed gearing should eliminate inclusion-based failure modes. Enhanced lubrication filtration pulls out smaller metal particles that could damage internal parts. Lastly, 24/7 vibration and oil particle condition management are included as standard. All these specially designed features developed by Moventas combine to significantly prolong gearbox life, avoiding costly downtime for repairs.

Moventas will begin deliveries of the XL for GE 1.5 in Q1 of 2016 to customers in North America.

“We leveraged our many years of experience in gearbox service and repair to have our engineers develop a worry-free gearbox designed to save our customers money and downtime,” said Mike Grunow, vice president of sales and marketing for Moventas Americas. “Moventas stands behind the product with a comprehensive five-year warranty that covers any crane costs that would arise and any lost energy production.”

For more information, go to www.moventas.com.

— Source: Moventas

GE Renewable Energy Unveils New 3-MW Wind Turbine Platform

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GE Renewable Energy Unveils New 3-MW Wind Turbine Platform

GE Renewable Energy recently unveiled its new family of 3-MW wind turbines at the European Wind Energy Association’s (EWEA) 2015 Annual Event in Paris. Joining GE’s recently launched 3.2-130, the announcement introduced two new models in the 3.4-130 and 3.4-137, making the platform GE’s most powerful family of onshore wind turbines offered to date.

“Our new 3-MW machines are built to address the complexities of European wind conditions,” said Anne McEntee, president and CEO of GE’s onshore wind business. “Working closely with our customers, this new family of smart, modular turbines will allow us to configure the right technology for a wide variety of site-specific wind conditions.”

The new platform is built on the proven performance of GE’s 2.5- and 2.75-MW machines. In addition to larger rotor diameters, the new models offer improved load management systems, enhanced control features, and more efficient drive-train technology. They also represent GE’s most powerful onshore machines offered to date with the 3.4-137 model capable of providing up to 24 percent higher output than existing technology (compared to GE’s 2.75-120 model).

In addition, the new 3-MW platform features the modular hardware and software analytics capabilities of GE’s Digital Wind Farm. The hardware platform uses the same machine head throughout all configurations, but offers flexible rotor diameters of 130 or 137 meters, multiple generator ratings of 3.2-3.4 MW and five possible tower height combinations ranging from 85 to 155 meters. The Digital Wind Farm also uses a virtual modeling system that aims to optimize individual turbine configuration and site layout to get the maximum energy production from each site’s unique wind conditions. It is powered by Predix (trademark of General Electric Company) — the secure software platform for the Industrial Internet.

GE’s modular 3-MW turbine platform is configurable to meet IEC class 3A, 2B, and 3B wind conditions.

GE also recently introduced its new renewable energy business at the European Wind Energy Association’s (EWEA) 2015 Annual Event in Paris. The new unit significantly expands GE’s wind portfolio in the wake of its recent acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses.

“Today is an exciting day for the future of the wind industry,” said Jérôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy. “With the creation of our new business, GE now has one of the world’s largest renewable energy footprints, and our goal is to help drive the wind industry forward by drawing on the shared expertise of two innovative companies.”

The new business expands GE’s global wind footprint to more than 30,000 turbines worldwide and significantly increases its presence in regions such as Europe and Latin America. In Europe alone, GE’s installed base is expected to  grow by approximately 50 percent as a result of the deal.

“Over the past few years, we have focused on making our wind business more global,” said Anne McEntee, president and CEO of GE’s onshore wind unit. “The Alstom deal helps us gain local experience in key growth regions, and we will be extending our services capabilities to a broader group of customers across the newly combined fleet.”

In addition, GE Renewable Energy is welcoming a new offshore wind unit into the portfolio. Featuring new Haliade turbine technology, the offshore business has built a significant backlog of orders with EDF in France and has been selected for the Merkur offshore project in Germany. The Haliade technology will also be featured in the historic Block Island project, which is set to become the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Construction is underway, and the project is expected to begin operations next year.

“Offshore wind is a challenging industry, but we believe the market has real potential,” said Anders Soe-Jensen, president and CEO of GE’s offshore wind unit. “Our goal is to work closely with customers to continue validating our technology as we begin to scale and grow the business.”

Customers can also expect to see service-related benefits resulting from the acquisition. GE Renewable Energy plans to extend its services capabilities across both existing fleets, with an emphasis on using cutting-edge digital and analytics capabilities to help customers improve productivity and increase power output. Earlier this year, GE launched its Digital Wind Farm, which aims to create a digital infrastructure for the wind industry. The Digital Wind Farm harnesses the analytics power of the GE Store and is powered by Predix, the secure software platform for the Industrial Internet.

For more information on this expansion, go to www.ge.com. 

— Source: GE

Nordex Aims for Profitable Growth with Acciona Windpower

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Nordex Aims for Profitable Growth with Acciona Windpower

At its Capital Markets Day in Frankfurt, Germany, Nordex SE presented its medium-term strategic targets for the period through 2018. These plans are based on the assumption that it will be able to merge its operating business with that of Acciona Windpower (AWP) at the beginning of 2016. Nordex has already applied for antitrust clearance of the acquisition of AWP.

By pooling their activities, Nordex and AWP aim to establish a global player that is well positioned to face future market challenges. Both companies are an ideal fit for each other in terms of markets, products, and sites, meaning that they will be able to offset the effects of possible fluctuation in regional demand even more effectively. With their combined product ranges, they will be able to address the typical requirements of customers in established wind power markets and in emerging markets.

The overarching goal being pursued by the new and larger Nordex SE will be to achieve a substantial reduction in the cost of energy from wind power. The cost of energy is to be lowered by 15 to 18 percent by 2018 through more efficient turbines and reduced product costs. This will be one of the key levers for increasing sales to the target mark of EUR 4.2 to 4.5 billion over the next three years. The two companies, which are currently still operating separately, are targeting sales of EUR 2.4 billion (Nordex) and EUR 1.0 billion (AWP) in 2015.

The management board expects that, as a joint entity, the group will be able to achieve an EBITDA margin of over 10 percent by 2018, including around 60 percent of the synergy benefits of EUR 95 million per year expected from 2019 onwards. The management board particularly expects to be able to derive synergy benefits from successful joint marketing activities. In contrast, cost synergies are not the core aim of the acquisition.

“Nordex and AWP are an ideal fit for each other,” said Nordex CEO Lars Bondo Krogsgaard. “We complement each other in key areas and there is only little overlap. This will make the transformation of the two companies into a single group easier and allow it to bear fruit quickly.”

Both companies are already working on preparations for the merger, which is expected to be completed 18 months after clearance is received by competition authorities.

For more information, go to www.nordex-online.com. 

— Source: Nordex
 

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