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Latest Issue
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- Category: Articles
The Role of Continuous Thermal Imaging in Detecting Faults and Reducing Risks
Wind turbines are a critical pillar of renewable energy production, yet they routinely encounter significant operational risks, including overheating, electrical fires, and arc-flash incidents within their nacelle environments. These issues not only threaten the reliability of energy output, they also endanger maintenance personnel, increase operational costs, and contribute to lengthy downtime. Traditional methods of diagnosing these hazards, while long relied upon, are often dangerous, inefficient and prone to data inaccuracies. In response to these persistent challenges, Puget Sound Energy transitioned from conventional diagnostic methods to an advanced, fixed, bispectral infrared camera solution, fundamentally transforming its approach to wind turbine maintenance. This article explores how the adoption of this technology resulted in substantial improvements in technician safety, operational efficiency, real-time diagnostics, and proactive failure prevention, ultimately reshaping best practices for wind energy infrastructure maintenance.
By Troy Goss, Project Manager, Sytis, USA
- Category: Articles
Load Reduction and Anchor Sharing for Floating Wind Farms
Honeymooring is a grid solution for sustainable planning of floating wind farms. It is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and enables coexistence with other ocean users. This article describes the technical principles and components of the system and reflects on the developments needed to industrialise it.
By Kasper Sandal, Engineering Specialist, Semar, Norway
- Category: Articles
Turning Blurry Wind Data into Crystal-Clear Insights
Deep learning has been a game changer in many industries, from autonomous vehicles to natural language processing. Now, this powerful technology is making waves in the renewable energy sector, specifically in the creation of high-resolution wind resource maps using super-resolution models. These maps are vital for wind farm developers to optimise turbine placement and accurately estimate energy production.
By Mike Optis, Veer Renewables, and Jacob Schnell, University of Waterloo, Canada
- Category: Articles
Utilising Bi-Wave Ultrasonics and Machine Learning
Maintaining bolt preload is critical to ensure the structural integrity of a wind turbine. Current non-destructive testing approaches for estimating bolt tension, such as ultrasonic elongation measurements, are impractical on a large scale for new and in situ bolts. However, the limitations of elongation measurement techniques (untensioned baseline measurements, compounding errors from material and environmental variation, and complex calibrations) can be overcome by combining bi-wave ultrasonics technology and machine learning.
By Joshua Scott, Director of Research and Innovation, Predictant, USA
- Category: Articles
New Study Shows Dramatic Reduction at Canadian Wind Energy Projects
Wind energy is critical to a sustainable future for our planet. While the benefits of this energy source are numerous, one unintended consequence of the transition to wind energy is the impact wind turbines have on bats. Bats are remarkably important animals that have far-reaching ecological and economic impacts. As factors such as habitat loss and disease have led to rapid declines in bat populations, it is critical to address the additional risks from wind turbines.
By Brittany Good, Senior Marketing Specialist, NRG Systems, USA
- Category: Articles
Harnessing Wind Energy Twice per Revolution
Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are gaining attention as an alternative to traditional horizontal axis designs because of their ability to capture wind from all directions and reduced visual impact. However, existing VAWT configurations often suffer from performance and structural limitations, hindering their widespread use. This study analyses state-of-the-art VAWT technologies and proposes an innovative framework to address these issues and improve performance. The design integrates advanced aerodynamics, robust structural support, efficient drive mechanisms, and electromagnetic stabilisation to optimise energy conversion and versatility. Key features, such as variable blade positioning and adaptive aerodynamic profiles, enhance energy extraction, grid integration, and resilience. This research demonstrates the potential of integrated VAWT technologies to overcome challenges and enable sustainable energy generation, showcased by four distinct VAWT designs, each with unique characteristics.
By Professor Friedrich Björn Grimm, Founder, RES Institute, Germany
- Remote Sensing Emerges as Technology in Advancing Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion
- A Unified Approach to Wind Turbine Modelling
- Flying Wind Turbines
- Maximising Wind Turbine Performance
- Tackling Wind Turbine Blade Icing
- Turbines and Power Lines
- Understanding and Unlocking Hidden Transmission Capacity
- Ensuring Optimal Blade Pitch Alignment
- Yield Assessments Considering Climate Change
- Revolutionising Wind Tower Design Paradigms
- The Floating Lidar Turbulence Intensity Debate
- Uncertainty of Low Lidar Availability
- Leveraging Drone-Deployed Wind Measurement Sensor
- Automated Turbine AEP Loss Calculation
- Optimising Wind Farm Operations with Weather Intelligence
- AI-Enhanced Blade Damage Detection
- The Sound of Leading Edge Erosion
- When Over How Much
- Can Sensing Technology Improve Cable Monitoring?
- Leveraging Vibration Data and Artificial Intelligence in Wind Energy Management
- Advances in Wind Turbine Condition Monitoring and Wake Optimisation
- Electromagnetic Fields and Offshore Wind
- Drones Protect Rotor Blades from Icing
- Wind Farms and Marine Life
- Envisioning a Domestic Offshore Wind Workforce
- Pluggable System Solution for Control-Cabinet-Free Wind Turbines
- Predicting Annoyance from Wind Turbines by an Objective Measure
- Directional Noise-Reduced Operations (NROs)
- Microwave Technology for Blade Recycling
- Advancements in Wind Turbine Installation
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| #13 GE Vernova 1.5MW wind turbines installed at Turkey Track wind farm in Nolan, Texas, USA (courtesy Rollin Wolf Koons) |
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