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Site Updated:
June 1, 2023

Click the logo above to read the latest windpower news stories from this monthly magazine.

• • Wind Energy Substation Sets
  Sail for New York Offshore Project

  Is Expected to be the First Utility-Scale Offshore Wind Farm Completed In Federal Waters
  
  

  May 30, 2023 -The substation is a so-called topside structure that will sit on a monopile foundation, collect the power produced by wind turbines and connect it to the grid.

  Work also is underway on the Edison Chouest Offshore, a Jones Act-qualified wind farm service operations vessel that will support Ørsted and Eversource’s projects in the Northeast. The Jones Act, formally known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, is a federal statute that regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports.

• • Ukraine Sees New Virtue in Wind Power

  It’s Harder to Destroy
  
  

  May 29, 2023 -Bombarding the power grid has been an essential part of Russia’s invasion, but officials say it would take many more missile strikes to badly damage a wind farm than a power plant.

• • New Bedford Once Lit the World with Whale Oil

  Now it Wants to Do the
  Same With Wind Power
  
  

  May 25, 2023 -New Bedford was once the city that lit the world, exporting vast quantities of whale oil for lamps in the early 1800s. Workers packed the docks, unloading casks of oil that had been extracted at sea from whale carcasses and brought in by a fleet of hundreds of whaling ships.

  Nearly two centuries later New Bedford aspires to light the world again, in a different relationship with the sea, as the offshore wind industry arrives here.

• • Texas' Renewable Power Struggle:

  How the Nation’s Top Wind Power State Turned Against Renewables
  
  

  May 25, 2023 -State Rep. Jared Patterson disagreed with his Republican colleague that Texas should keep supporting the booming renewable energy industry here.

  Rep. John Smithee was arguing on the House floor in early May that certain solar and wind farms should be eligible for school tax breaks. A similar program the state offered for the past 20 years drew renewable energy projects to rural parts of Texas, including Smithee’s Amarillo district.

• • Massive Turbine Blades
  Make For Massive Waste Streams

  Chemists Have Found a Way to
  Break them Down for Reuse
  
  

  May 11, 2023 - Modern wind turbines are behemoths, reaching well over twice the height of the Statue of Liberty. Recycling them when they reach the end of their lives is paramount if wind power is to be sustainable. Turbine blades however, are made of materials that cannot currently be recycled.

  In a new study, chemists from Aarhus University in Denmark describe a way to break apart the strong glue that holds blades together, making their main building blocks available for reuse. This could keep millions of tons of blades out of landfills in the coming decades.

• • Developing Offshore Wind in the Gulf of Maine

  The Latest Biden
  Move on Clean Energy
  
  

  Apr. 27, 2023 -The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on April 25 issued its Gulf of Maine Call for Information and Nominations, which invites public comment on, and assesses interest in, possible commercial wind energy development in areas offshore Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on April 25 issued its Gulf of Maine Call for Information and Nominations, which invites public comment on, and assesses interest in, possible commercial wind energy development in areas offshore Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

• • The North Sea Can Become
  a Renewable Energy Powerhouse

  European Countries Plan
  To Make It So
  
  

  Apr. 26, 2023 - The North Sea is bordered by Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, and Luxembourg.

  For many decades, the oil and methane gas beneath it have powered many of those countries, but now there is a new kid in town — offshore wind. This week, leaders from those eight nations, joined by leaders from the European Commission and Ireland, converged on Ostend, Belgium, to discuss ways to turn the North Sea into “Europe’s biggest green power plant.”

• • Michigan’s Largest Wind Farm

  DTE Brings It Online
  
  

  Apr. 19, 2023 -DTE Energy has announced the commissioning of Meridian Wind, a 225 MW wind farm that is now the largest operating in Michigan.

  Meridian Wind spans three townships across Midland and Saginaw counties and features 77 wind turbines. The wind farm is capable of generating enough clean energy to power more than 78,000 homes.

• • World’s Deepest Wind Turbine
  Foundation Installed Off Scottish Coast

  Wind Turbine Foundation at a depth of 58.6m Was Installed off the Coast of Angus, Scotland
  
  

  Apr. 13, 2023 -Installation took place at the Seagreen wind farm, a project resulting from a £3 billion ($3.7 billion) joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies.

  It’s said to be the world’s deepest wind turbine foundation, topping a previous Seagreen record of 57.4 meters (approximately 188 feet) set in October 2022.

• • The Evolution of Ørsted:

  From Oil to Offshore Wind
  
  

  Mar. 20, 2023 -One of Europe’s most fossil fuel-intensive energy companies transformed completely in little more than a decade by doubling down on offshore wind.

  Ørsted, formerly DONG Energy, for Danish Oil and Natural Gas, started aggressively building wind farms off the coast of Denmark, the U.K. and Germany in 2008 — a time when offshore wind was a curiosity.

• • North Carolina Approves Its First Wind Farm

  Apex Clean Energy’s Will Build a 189 MW Wind Farm, the State’s First
  
  

  Mar. 17, 2023 -The permit from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Energy Mineral, and Land Resources allows for up to 45 wind turbines and associated infrastructure to be built as part of the Timbermill Wind Project.

  The permit is the first for a facility under the North Carolina session law passed in 2013 establishing a permitting program for wind energy facilities.

• • A Microgrid With Rooftop Wind

  Texas Firm Deploys Novel
  Technology at UK Naval Base
  
  

  Mar. 9, 2023 -In the first phase, the company’s 36kW vertical array turbine has been deployed, along with Hover’s Integrated Energy Management System.

  Later phases will build out the balance of the microgrid, including a rooftop solar PV array for additional power generation during the day and batteries for storing excess power, such as power generated at night.

• • The U.S. Has Billions for Wind and Solar Projects

  Good Luck Plugging Them In
  
  

  Feb. 23, 2023 -Plans to install 3,000 acres of solar panels in Kentucky and Virginia are delayed for years. Wind farms in Minnesota and North Dakota have been abruptly canceled. And programs to encourage Massachusetts and Maine residents to adopt solar power are faltering.

  The energy transition poised for takeoff in the United States amid record investment in wind, solar and other low-carbon technologies is facing a serious obstacle: The volume of projects has overwhelmed the nation’s antiquated systems to connect new sources of electricity to homes and businesses.

• • This Wind Turbine Tower Design
  Could Revolutionize the Industry

  Major Players Hope So
  
  

  Feb. 23, 2023 -The first wind turbine tower manufactured using a spiral welding technique is now in commercial operation. Proponents of the new approach say it could revolutionize onshore wind deployment by offering onsite, modular assembly, eliminating costly transportation costs.

  Keystone Power Systems and GE collaborated to design the 89-meter tall tower for the GE 2.8-127 wind turbine. The Dept. of Energy provided $7 million to support the innovative effort.

• •  NJ Regulators Advance Offshore Wind Farm

  They Bypassed Local Opposition
  
  

  Feb. 20, 2023 - New Jersey utility regulators used a controversial law Feb. 17 enabling them to bypass local authorities and grant approvals needed for an offshore wind project to proceed.

  The state Board of Public Utilities granted Orsted, the Danish wind energy developer, approvals toward several easements and permits that authorities in Cape May County had refused to grant the company.

• • Blaming Wind Farms for Whale Deaths?

  Where’s the Evidence?
  
  

  Feb. 20, 2023 -Thousands gathered at New Jersey’s Point Pleasant beach on Sunday with a united mission: to pause offshore wind projects in response to recent whale deaths along the New York-New Jersey coast.

  The gathering unfolded even as officials dispute the notion that the projects may be to blame for the dead whales, a controversy that – like many – is breaking along political party lines.

• • A Wind Industry Giant Plans
  to Solve Its Plastic Waste Problem

  Vestas Says It Has a Groundbreaking New Way to Recycle Turbine Blades

  The Verge, Feb. 13, 2023 -One of the world’s biggest wind turbine manufacturers says it has a potentially groundbreaking solution for the industry’s enormous plastic waste problem.

  Last week, Vestas announced that it found a novel way to break the plastic in turbine blades down into virgin-grade material. That way, instead of cluttering landfills, it can be recycled to make new turbines.

• • England’s Tallest Wind Turbine Prepares to Rise

  Bristol's Onshore Wind Turbine
  to be England’s Tallest, Supplying
  Power to 3,000 Homes
  
  

  Feb. 9, 2023 -A muddy, forgotten patch of land, sandwiched between a gas power station and a car breakage plant, will be home to England’s tallest wind turbine by the end of next week.

  The turbine, which will stand 150 meters tall from its base to the tip of its blade, is owned by a group of residents from nearby Lawrence Weston, a deprived housing estate on the fringes of Bristol, and some of the income it generates will be used to help the local community.

• • When Will We Hit Peak Fossil Fuels?

  Maybe We Already Have
  
  

  Jan. 26, 2023 -The global energy transition has reached a pivot point in which fossil fuels have likely peaked in their use for producing electricity and are about to enter a period of decline.

  This is the idea at the heart of a new report from RMI, a nonprofit that does research and advocacy about the transition. The lead author, energy analyst Kingsmill Bond, makes a case that wind and solar power are going through growth that looks almost exactly like the trend lines for the early stages of transformative products and industries, across technologies and eras, like automobiles and smartphones.

• • Proactive Offshore Wind
  Transmission Planning Could Save Billions

  The U.S. Has Ambitious Goals to Generate Clean Energy From Offshore Wind Farms. But...
  
  

  Jan. 25 2023 -Proactive and collaborative transmission planning to support offshore wind development in the coming decades could save at least $20 billion and reduce environmental and community impacts by 50%, according to a new report conducted by the Brattle Group on behalf of clean energy advocacy organizations.

• • How Out-Of-Service Wind Turbines
  Are Giving New Life to Children’s Playgrounds

  Old Turbine Blades Cannot Be Recycled For Energy Production, But They Can Be Reused For Fun and Aesthetics
  
  

  Jan. 19, 2023 -Like many human inventions, wind turbines also come with an expiration date. They usually last up to 25 years and after that, they become a serious headache.

  A turbine blade cannot be recycled because of its size; therefore, it is cut down into pieces and sent to wind turbine graveyards, like the ones in Texas and Wyoming. At these sites, thousands of turbine blades are just lying there out in the Sun like a massive pile of waste, and that pile keeps on growing every year.

• • Offshore Wind Not to Blame
  For East Coast Whale Deaths

  Federal Agencies Make That Clear
  
  

  Jan. 18, 2023 -Federal environmental and energy officials moved Wednesday to quell a growing controversy over whether work done by the offshore wind power industry is killing whales in the northeastern U.S., saying there is no evidence this is happening.

  In a hastily arranged briefing for reporters, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric AdministrationBureau of Ocean Energy Management addressed a spate of whale deaths on the East Coast that some groups suspect may have been caused by site preparation work for offshore wind farms.

• • Startup Eyes U.S. for 250 kW Wind Turbine Production

  Siva Powers America Eyes a Two-Phase Development Project to Assemble Wind Turbines for the Domestic U.S. Market
  
  

  Jan. 9, 2023 -Initial plans call for a $2.5 million, 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility near Buffalo, New York, where the company would assemble nacelles and blades produced in India.

  Future plans call for turbine blade manufacturing to be relocated to the New York State site from India.

• • China Works on the World’s
  Largest Offshore Wind Turbine

  Wind Turbines Are Getting Bigger and More Powerful Every Year
  
  

  Jan. 9, 2023 -Last year, GE Renewable Energy announced that its Haliade-X, the first wind turbine capable of more than 12 megawatts (MW), received a certificate of operations up to 14.7MW – making it the world’s most powerful wind turbine. But it looks like the Haliade-X will soon have to make room for an even more powerful wind turbine.

• • The U.S. Will Need Thousands of Wind Farms

  Will Small Towns Go Along?
  
  

  Dec. 30, 2022 -Depressed property values. Flickering shadows. Falling ice. One by one, a real estate appraiser rattled off what he said were the deleterious effects of wind farms as a crowd in an agricultural community in central Illinois hung on his every word.

  According to an analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the U.S. would need to construct more than 6,000 projects like the Monticello one in order to run the economy on solar, wind, nuclear or other forms of nonpolluting energy.

• • Health Benefits of Wind Energy Could Quadruple

  How? By Dialing Down Fossil Fuels
  
  

  Dec. 26, 2022 -Wind power currently generates about 10% of the electricity consumed in the United States. A new MIT study suggests that the health benefits of wind power could more than quadruple. When wind energy is available, this rapid transition will be made possible by prioritizing emission reductions from the dirtiest fossil-fuel-based power plants.

  Click now to read on.

• • Mesmerizing Wall Turbines Could
  Revamp Urban Renewable Energy

  Wind Turbines Incorporated Into Building Walls Could Be a Creative Solution For Harnessing Wind Power In Cities
  
  

  Dec. 13, 2022 -The number of wind turbines across the world has grown exponentially thanks to plummeting costs. By now, people have grown accustomed to huge wind turbine farms that dot some landscapes, either onshore or offshore.

  But unlike solar panels, residential wind turbines are less affordable and accessible, being seen as too cumbersome and wind-dependent, and this is most evident in urban areas. You’ll be hard-pressed to find wind turbines in Manhattan, whereas rooftop solar installations abound.

  But things are changing.

• • The Latst in California Offshore Wind

  How Floating Wind Turbines Work
  
  

  Dec 9, 2022 -Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind turbines directly on the seafloor costly if not impossible.

  Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep – roughly the height of an 18-story building – these “monopile” structures are pretty much out of the question.

  A solution has emerged that’s being tested in several locations around the world: wind turbines that float.

• • Wind and Solar Will Slash MISO Emissions

  But Will Increase Grid Complexity
  
  

  Dec. 5, 2022 -- Wind and solar generation in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region are projected to serve 60% of annual load by 2041, reducing emissions by nearly 80% compared to 2005 levels but also increasing “sharply” the complexity of reliably operating and planning the grid.

• • Windpower From Kite Turbines

  Low-Cost Renewable Energy
  Concept For Wind Turbines

  May, 2021, (SOLARIMPULSE FOUNDATION)-Using kites flying at higher altitudes, the kite turbines are accessing better wind resources. They provide clean energy in a more stable pattern than other renewable energy solutions. Thanks to the kite principle, they require 90% less material resources and hence they are more economically attractive. Kite turbines take off like drones using four propellers.

• • We Can Now 3D Print Wind Turbine Blades

  GE Awarded DoE Grant
  to Research That Technology

  Feb. 8, 2021 (Renewable Energy World)-GE Research, GE Renewable Energy, and LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business were recently selected by the US Department of Energy (DoE) to research the design and manufacture of 3D printed wind turbine blades.

  The GE business units will partner with the Oakridge National Lab and the National Renewable Energy Lab on a 25-month $6.7 million project to develop and demonstrate an integrated additive manufacturing process for novel high-performance blade designs for the future of large rotors.

• • All About Wind Energy (Free Download)

  The Facts About Wind Energy

  Climate Reality Project - For thousands of years, people across the globe have harnessed the power of wind in one way or another – whether to pump water, grind grain, or propel boats. But today, wind has become a powerful way of generating electricity. And better yet, it’s renewable and doesn’t pollute the air we breathe.

  Cities, states, countries, and companies around the world are increasingly turning to wind energy to power our world. But, thanks to Big Polluters, there’s a lot of misinformation out there. In this e-book, we set the story straight and give you the facts so you know what to say the next time you hear a Big Polluter talking point about wind power.

• • Wind Power Gets Its Day In the Sun

  Vestas and EDPR Install
  Single-Converter Wind-Solar Hybrid

  Mar. 28, 2018 - The two companies installed the demonstrator – which consists of a V112-3.0MW turbine and a new 372kW solar PV array – at EDPR’s Janda III wind farm in Cádiz, south-west Spain.

  Power from the solar PV panels is fed to the turbine as direct current, which is then converted and transformed by the turbine’s power conversion system, which Vestas upgraded especially for the project, to export power to the grid.

  By connecting wind and solar through the turbine’s electronics and using its full-scale converter, the number of converters is reduced, the two companies explained.

• • The Advantages of Off-Shore Wind

  Study Finds Offshore
  Wind Farms Have Powerful
  Advantage Over Land Turbines

  Oct. 9, 2017  Floating wind turbines at sea could create up to three times as much electricity as turbines on land, increasing the energy potential for a technology that has yet to be proven at scale, a new study suggests.

• • Hornsea Project Two (HP2)
  (Right Off the Yorkshire Coast)

  Hornsea Project Two, North Sea

  Sep. 19, 2017  (Power Technology) — Hornsea Project Two (HP2) is being constructed within the Hornsea Zone of the North Sea, UK. With a total capacity of approximately 1.4GW, the wind farm is expected to be the largest of its kind worldwide.

  Project developer Ørsted (previously Dong Energy) gained the rights to the project in August 2015 through the acquisition of SMartWind, a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Financial Services.

  The scoping report for the project was completed in 2012. The consent application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) for examination in January 2015 and completed in March 2016.

• • What the Top of a Turbine Look Like

  SOn Top of a Wind Turbine, or On Top of the World

  Apr. 25, 2017  -Stand atop a wind turbine and you get some powerful perspective. When you’re 280 feet off the ground, your feet clinging to the deck, the breeze blowing past, you’ve got a clear view of the power of wind energy. Wath the video.

• • Nearly Half of Danish Power Comes From Wind

  Over 47% of Their Energy was
  Generated by Wind Turbines in 2019

  Jan. 3, 2020(CleanTechnica),- Power generated by wind turbines at sea increased to 18% last year from 14% in 2018, while onshore wind accounted for 29%.

  Denmark is a world leader in renewable energy and is way ahead of its nearest rival Ireland, which generated 28 per cent of its energy from wind in 2018.

  
  Click now for the story.

• • A New Approach to Capture
  the Power of Offshore Wind

  It's Called “Wind Catching”

  June 2, 2021, (WindCatching.com)-Designed to optimize energy production for a floating wind power plant for easy operations and maintenance.

  • Elevator based turbine installation – all heavy operations performed on deck

  • No need for specialized vessels or cranes

  • 50 year design life

  • Power to X – production and storage

• • Robotic Wind Blade Repair

  BladeBUG Inspects, Resurfaces, and
  Repairs Wind Turbine Blades Remotely

  (CleanTechnica),Here’s a story about a tiny little bit of technology that could have a significant impact on renewable energy, particularly wind turbines. Efficiency is a big deal in the world of wind and solar energy. Dust, dirt, pollen and bird droppings can reduce the efficiency of solar panels, so people have invented ways to wash them in order to keep them producing electricity as efficiently as possible.

  Wind turbines have blades that can be hundreds of feet long and weigh thousands of pounds. Not only do they operate high up in the air, many are located miles offshore where accessing them is both difficult and hazardous.

• • It's a Breeze for Dutch Trains

  Dutch Trains Are World's First
  to Run on 100% Wind Power

  Jan. 16, 2017  -The Netherlands, aka Windmill Country, is now operating 100 percent of its electric trains with wind energy.

• • Wind Systems Trends to Watch

  Advanced Blade Pitch
  Systems Trends to Watch

  Dec.5, 2016  -The latest developments in blade pitch technology have opened new opportunities for wind turbine manufacturers. We will look at five key trends of this rapidly evolving technology and three important insights to keep in mind to make wise pitch system decisions, avoid pitfalls, and choose the right pitch partner.

• • Wind Farm Like Ivory Soap

  SOffshore Wind Farms See
  Promise in Platforms That Float

  Sept.29, 2016  The sun was beating down on the leafy campus of the University of Maine one afternoon last month. But inside a hangarlike laboratory, a miniature hurricane was raging.

• • Scottish Wind: (Bagpipes Not Included)

  SAmerica’s First Offshore Wind
  Farm May Power Up a New Industry

  Aug. 22, 2016  The idea of building turbines offshore, where strong, steady wind could, in theory, generate large amounts of power, has long been seen as a vital step toward a future based on renewable energy.

• • High-Speed Wind Turbine Assembly

  Right Before Your Eyes
  Video by Mid-American Energy

  Enjoy this high-speed video showing the assembly of a giant wind turbine.

• • How Wind Turbines Work

  What You Need to Know

  July 23, 2021 (ZME Science) -They look like airplane propellers running circles on the spot, spinning round and round all day long. Wind turbines take the kinetic energy from the wind and use their giant rotors to capture some of it turn it into electricity, and they may play a key role in saving us from catastrophic climate change. Let’s take a closer look at how wind turbines actually work.

  Wind turbines are based on a simple principle, in essence: the wind turns the blades, which causes the axis to rotate, which is attached to a generator, which produces electricity. The stronger the wind, the more electricity is generated. That’s why we usually see industrial-scale wind farms with high towers and large blades across the world: larger blades can gather more power and are more efficient. But while the basic principle is simple, the technology is complex.