All articles by Blatha
Blatha
Turn to Taiwan
Carmine Frisk talks to Markus Wild, the managing director of EnBW Asia-Pacific, about the company’s new ventures in Taiwan, and why the country is a fast-emerging player in the offshore wind market.
Sea change
In the first of its kind, and ensuring that safety is paramount, SSI Energy has secured two contracts to supply highly trained, life-saving, dual-role technicians to work on the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm and to deploy paramedics during construction of the East Anglia ONE project in the North Sea. Duncan Higham, MD of SSI Energy, gives some insight.
Solid foundations
The global wind turbine foundations market registered a value of $5.7 billion in 2017. This is expected to reach $7.2 billion in 2022, according to GlobalData – $3.05 billion in the onshore market and $4.16 billion in the offshore market. World Wind Technology takes a look at those figures, and which countries are behind the growth.
Tend to the turbines
The flourishing wind turbine market has given many opportunities for various sectors to develop alongside it, and one market in particular that is benefitting is operations and maintenance, having grown by over 600% in the past ten years. Here, GlobalData looks at the countries that hold the biggest market share and which are likely to expand in the coming years.
Basque in the winds of change
Spain is very much back on the wind energy map, making it the ideal destination for the 2019 WindEurope Conference & Exhibition, which will take place in April in the northern-Spanish city of Bilbao.
No problems for Houston
AWEA WINDPOWER 2019 is on its way to the energy capital of the world, Houston, Texas. In May, this annual conference for the wind industry will bring together the biggest companies and the most advanced technology, and will show why the wind industry is so exciting and continues to develop.
The height of success
GE is designing and building the tallest-ever wind turbine, the Haliade-X, which at 260m will dwarf the current biggest turbine, at 187m, built by Vestas. There are plenty of advantages to upping the scale and height of turbines, but what are the hurdles of ever-increasing size and altitude? Molly Lempriere talks to GE engineering and product development leader Vincent Schellings.
Certain quality
With the opening of its new plant in Bilbao, Haizea is staking its claim to be the most significant new player manufacturing towers for wind turbines. Without a long history of successful implementations on which to call, the company has had to quickly demonstrate its commitment to excellence. Borja Muga, the company’s quality manager, speaks to Jim Banks about its road to attain the highest grade of certifications.
Hack away
This September saw the return of Hack The Wind, one of the success stories from last year’s Global Wind Summit. Focusing on blockchain, and operations and management optimisation, this year’s event was even more productive than the previous, as InnoEnergy’s renewable technology officer Emilien Simonot; Pedro Valverde, manager at EDP Innovation; and Antonio de la Torre, chief technology officer at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, discuss.
Testing times
As the rate of growth in the wind energy market continues to accelerate, there is increasing pressure for wind turbines to perform more efficiently and reliably. Testing components under realistic conditions is the area of expertise of Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems. Jim Banks speaks to the head of its wind turbine and system technology division, Martin Pilas, about how its testing facility has kept pace with demanding change.