Vineyard Wind GE Blade Failure, Siemens Gamesa strike pending?
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⚡️ Buyer beware: electrostatic eliminators are sold on the theory that they suck the charge out of a cloud, preventing lightning from hitting your wind turbine. They don’t work. In fact, they can cause a lot more punctures and dangerous strikes. We are happy to respond to your questions, and there are other lightning experts you can consult. For the sake of your equipment, please spend some time to understand how lightning works and more importantly, how to protect your blades. Electrostatic eliminators are not the answer. ⚡️
When a GE Vernova blade failed and landed in the Atlantic near Nantucket, it resulted in shutdown for Vineyard Wind. What happened? And why so little news coverage? Rosemary, Joel, Allen and Phil bring their engineering, blade design and construction expertise to the discussion. Tune in to find out what we’ll be watching for as the investigations proceed.
Siemens Gamesa has secured a $1.2 billion euro line of green guarantees from the Spanish government and major banks - and it’s a timely investment for Siemens Energy. How the company will deliver on its 4x order backlog remains to be seen. How the company deploys this new capital while addressing ongoing challenges could have ripple effects in the industry for some time.
Meanwhile, a potential strike at the company’s Hull, England wind turbine factory could significantly disrupt production of the 108-meter blades that are made there. By the time you read this, the union will have made its decision. (And the link to the story, below, will probably carry an update.)
At least the company can point to some good news: Siemens has a 57% share of all US development projects that have selected a supplier. Vestas comes in second and GE Vernova rounds out the top three.
Some interesting technology notes:
Ørsted tested a new lower-noise installation method for offshore wind foundations at Gode Wind 3 and noise levels were reduced by over 99%. The tests showed levels just marginally above the ambient noise in the German Bight in the North Sea.
German-based Ematech will debut its new blade turning unit at September’s WindEnergy 2024 in Hamburg. The design allows a rotor blade to be pitched on the ground around its longitudinal axis, enabling smooth and continuous rotation - potentially saving operators millions in service and maintenance costs.
Mechanix Wear employs the latest technology in its high-performance work gloves, and Joel explains why the company’s new TRACK program, featured in PES Wind, is good for anyone who wears PPE.
Back in the US, Texas Senator John Cornyn asked the Pentagon to shut down a wind farm due to national security concerns.
Our Wind Farm of the Week is Walleye Wind Farm in southwest Minnesota. Joel loves to fish, and walleye is pretty tasty, so that explains why he picked this NextEra project. But there’s more to this fish tale.
The 40 GE turbines on the 31,000 acres at the Walleye Wind Project started production in December 2022, so it’s too soon to start talking about the end, but this wind farm’s decommissioning plan is online. And it’s really interesting.
(It's also 37 pages long, so read it if you want, but it's easier to just let Joel explain.)
We know you’re busy, so when you click on the links below, they’ll take you straight to the stories that we’ve covered in the podcast. Catch up with us in person at a trade show or reach out to share your thoughts, or to ask questions about wind, lightning, or walleye fishing.
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⚡️ NEWS FLASH 7/22/24: Siemens Gamesa €1.2 Billion Credit, Masdar Acquires Stake in Endesa, Leeward secures $1.25B Financing
➡️ New Interview: HeliService USA: Efficient Offshore Wind Transportation
Have a great week and thanks for reading and listening! - Allen, Rosie, Joel, Phil & everyone from the Uptime Podcast
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Director en empresa actual | Licenciado en Empresa, gestión, marketing
2moOfrezco licencias o venta de la patente por país, es la WO2024/123169 link: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/es/detail.jsf?docId=WO2024123169&_cid=P11-LXWM4H-16420-1 para que puedan fabricar y vender la turbina eólica plegable la cual es muy eficiente pues no se le escapa el viento por entre sus palas, es muy duradera y económica puede ser construida de acero y también sus palas, que al estar la turbina con su centro de gravedad en equilibrio que termina en punta en la parte de abajo, es fácil de mover, los rodamientos duran mucho pues no sostienen a la turbina solo la guían, y con un adecuado mantenimiento de pintura cada ciertos años puede durar un siglo o más. La turbina es de eje vertical plegable y multi configurable toma la fuerza del viento con la forma cóncava cerrada y cuando viene contra el viento con forma convexa abierta, no desperdicia la fuerza como la turbina Savonius. En las publicaciones de mi perfil aquí en Linkedin usuario: Jorge Fletes esta la información, videos de prototipos y la patente en español e inglés, también información de contacto. Gracias