Now that you are a grown-up, how often do you yearn for the past — the days when you didn’t have to make any tough decisions, serve as a chauffer, or make a house payment every month.
Somewhere along the line, there was a monumental shift in your understanding of what it means to be “grown up.”
When we’re young, we’re told some things are only for grown-ups. We’re told that we’ll understand when we’re older.
At other times, like when we’re out for a family dinner at a nice restaurant, we’re instructed to be on our best behavior and act like a grown-up. Our parents beam with pride at certain life events (grade school graduations, prom, etc.), commenting on how grown-up we look.
No wonder people get so confused and can’t agree on a singular definition.
Still, at some point — most likely unconsciously — we made the decision of what it meant to be a grown up. Perhaps that’s when we truly became grown-ups.
In the wind energy industry, we hear those words thrown around a lot — too often, really. It’s a favorite tactic of our detractors, used they can’t come up with a logical, coherent argument against wind energy.
The wind energy industry needs to grow up! We’ve spoon-fed them for too long!
It’s sometimes difficult to ignore this kind of senseless rhetoric — especially considering the hefty political and financial weight thrown it carries.
When the wind energy industry was in its infancy, it was easy for our opponents to dismiss wind as novel, fleeting, or even “cute.”
But as wind began to mature, their faces began to redden and their brows began to glisten with sweat. Cockiness gave way to concern. Simple dismissal gave way to baseless lies and schoolyard taunts.
But the person who shouts the loudest is not always the one who is right.
As an industry, let’s not base decisions about our own identity on the childish tactics of those who consider themselves to be the real grown-ups. After all, we’ve all been through this before.
Thanks for reading,
The new report highlights the potential for technical advancements to unlock wind resources in regions with limited wind deployment today, such as the Southeast. These new regions represent an additional 700,000 square miles — or about one-fifth of the U.S. — bringing the total area of technical wind potential to 1.8 million square miles.
“Meeting the 10,000 MW milestone confirms that Canada is a global leader in wind energy development,” said Robert Hornung, president of CanWEA. “Wind energy’s cost competitiveness, coupled with the fact that it produces no greenhouse gas emissions, means it is well positioned to continue its rapid growth as a mainstream contributor to Canada’s electricity supply.”
The product was developed with an eye toward increasing energy production for sites with medium to low wind conditions, which are prevalent in markets within the Americas region. It employs advanced technology including a newly-developed 59-meter-long rotor blade, which has been optimized for enhanced production at medium to low wind speed, while also reducing weights and loads for decreased wear and tear. Siemens’ blade factory in Fort Madison, Iowa, and Siemens aerodynamic engineering center in Boulder, Colorado, were heavily involved in the development of the refined product and its aeroelastically tailored blade.
“One of the biggest focus areas for us is safety — making sure that when students leave, they have an appreciation for being at-height and for being around rotating machinery,” Perko said. “They also have an appreciation of electricity so that they’re not going to jump into a situation that is not safe.”
In the United States, total solar employment surged 22 percent from 142,700 to 173,800 and overall wind jobs increased 43 percent since last count to 73,000. Data also finds that employment of women in the solar industry is on the rise, increasing from 26,700 to 37,500.
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Maintaining a wind plant is a complex undertaking. While the integral goal is continued turbine availability, there are many internal and external factors that can take a turbine offline. When blades aren’t turning, money is being lost. While scheduled maintenance costs are reflected in budgets and downtime is anticipated, unscheduled maintenance can greatly impact revenue through unexpected equipment replacement or repair and loss of productivity. Owners and operators are beginning to understand the implication of an efficient approach to maintenance.
Preparation for the lean event included a review of the processes and procedures that were in place. Wanzek found that procedures overlapped and that task performance required technicians to move throughout the turbine without regard for the amount of time spent on a task. This led to a focus on the reorganization of crews and responsibilities. Special attention was paid to maintaining safety regulations; allowing the time needed to perform a job safely, while reducing time wasted. One example involved moving a crew from the nacelle into the turbine hub.
“Our interest in Kaizen is due to its focus on small changes to create big impact. This allows us to address our clients’ need for a quick turn-around while promoting our strict safety policy,” he said.
As the customer notifies Moventas of the type of gearbox, location, and scope of failure, a gearbox or a mainshaft from a secured FIFO inventory is selected and serial numbers are reported to the customer. Next Moventas contacts the site to arrange shipping and installation, and a refurbished or new unit is delivered to the site and installed in the turbine with Moventas coordinating all crane and site work if desired.
“Why settle for participating in a pool that only services half of your fleet,” said Mike Grunow, vice president of sales and marketing at Moventas Americas.
The agreement enables the high-speed catamaran ferry company to commission the first U.S.-built crew transfer vessel to be built by Blount Boats and to launch Atlantic Wind Transfers—its commercial wind support services division.
As Rhode Island Fast Ferry’s subsidiary brand, Atlantic Wind Transfers will provide crew and equipment support during the construction phase of the Block Island Wind Farm beginning in Spring 2016. Following completion of the 30MW five-turbine site, work will move into operations and maintenance support to encompass a scheduled maintenance program as well as any additional crew transfer support required throughout the 20-year lifecycle of the first U.S. offshore wind farm project.
“Every business — including our own at GE — and every industry is being transformed by smarter digital technologies, and the greatest opportunity lies in energy,” said Steve Bolze, president and CEO of GE Power & Water. “The question is not whether to start down this path. It’s about knowing how to get the most out of your digital transformation. That’s what will separate industry leaders from those left behind.”
As more data is collected, the system actually learns over time, becoming more predictive and “future-proofing” wind farms by maintaining top performance and avoiding the maintenance issues that typically occur as turbines age. It also reduces costs by customizing maintenance schedules to ensure preventive maintenance is done only when needed.
“Our partnership with Clemson is an excellent example of how a university and a national laboratory can work together,” said Brian Smith, acting center director for NREL’s National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). “The collaborative efforts of these two research entities will complement one another for the technical advancement and large-scale deployment of wind and water power.” 
Supported by a $45.6 million DOE investment that is cost matched with over $70 million in funds, Clemson Univ currently operates a drivetrain testing facility with 7.5 MW and 15 MW dynamometers at its SCE&G Energy Innovation Center, as well as a 20 megavolt ampere (MVA) grid emulator the Duke Energy eGrid, which enables mechanical and electrical testing of wind turbines and other multi-megawatt devices bound for the electrical grid. These projects spurred the development of the $21 million Zucker Family Graduate Education Center, which will house Clemson’s graduate programs in the Charleston, Soth Carolina, area and is located adjacent to the test facilities. NREL and Clemson are installing hardware-in-the-loop modeling and control capabilities to enhance their testing facilities.
