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Clever solutions to help accelerate the pace of the energy transition

Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen told investors the company cannot live with warranty provisions continuing at 2022 levels

Top Story

Vestas expects 2022 loss and ‘profit challenge’ in 2023

27 January 2023 by Craig Richard

Vestas blamed inflation, project delays and “unacceptable” warranty provisions tied to repairs and upgrades as it flagged heavy losses for 2022.

News

Statkraft acquires first wind project in Peru

Statkraft's newly acquired Emma wind farm is planned for a site near the city of Sechura, which gives the Sechura Desert (above) its name (pic credit: Nur Photo/Getty Images)

Energy giants bid for new offshore wind farms in New York’s latest tender

Projects awarded in the tender will add to New York's existing 4.3GW offshore wind pipeline (pic credit: Nur Photo/Getty Images)

'Workforce is US wind's number one challenge' – Siemens Gamesa

“We need to have a capable workforce that can meet the needs of the industry,” Siemens Gamesa's onshore wind CEO in North America, Shannon Sturgil told Windpower Monthly

GE to build New York plants if Haliade-X patent ‘work-around’ succeeds

GE has now redesigned its Haliade-X in a way that does not infringe Siemens Gamesa's patented IP, it says, and has asked the court to remove the injunction on selling the turbine in the US

Floating designs look towards industrialisation for GW-scale projects

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Indigenous human rights protests halt Enel wind farm construction in Colombia

Indigenous communities are protesting construction of the Windpeshi wind farm in La Guajira, Colombia (pic credit: Nacion Wayuu)

Vertical-axis floating wind turbine cleared for Norway trials

An artist's impression of what SeaTwirl's technology would look like

‘EU must secure raw materials for energy transition’ – WindEurope

A copper mine in south-west Spain (pic credit: drcooke/Getty Images)

Siemens Gamesa votes to delist company from Spanish stock exchange

Siemens Gamesa chair Christian Bruch described the company's financial performance in recent years as "not satisfactory"

New wind farms boost RWE's earnings in 2022

RWE commissioned the 857MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm in UK waters at the beginning of 2022

News in brief

TotalEnergies buys into Brazilian renewables developer

OX2 adds new gigawatt-scale project to Finnish offshore wind pipeline

PGE wins second Polish offshore wind site in auction

Robotic turbine inspection firm plans expansion with new funding

NextEra probes GE wind turbine collapse in Wisconsin

Avangrid appeals green light for ‘uneconomic’ US offshore wind farm

US finds ‘no competitive interest’ for RWE-backed floating pilot

Fifth of new US power capacity will be wind by 2025

Masdar plans 5GW renewable energy build-out in Africa

Invenergy and New Mexico plan 4GW renewables transmission line

Iberdrola plans autumn 2023 construction start for blade recycling plant in Spain

Hexicon allowed to connect 7.1GW floating offshore wind to Italian grid

Eolus and PNE eye gigawatt-scale offshore wind off Latvia

Nordex in line for one of largest onshore wind farms in Baltic states

Turbines of the Year 2022

Leap in torque density for next-generation offshore turbines

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The blades behind record rotor sizes

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Offshore giants inch closer to 20MW and 250m rotor

Offshore turbines of the year

Chinese giants push boundaries to cut LCoE

Top turbines 5.6MW-plus

Low wind offering with offshore dimensions and big order book

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A year of record scaling, drivetrain switches and new developments

Windpower Monthly Turbines of the Year 2022 awards

Opinion

Poland’s seabed auction effectively scuppered by NATO underwater training

Jakub Budzyński unpicks what went wrong in Poland's first seabed auction this year

Floating wind could be profitable in little more than a decade

Speed and being an early adopter is of the essence, argues Arvid Nesse (Image: Norwegian Offshore Wind)

UK ruling in GE-Siemens Gamesa case could impact all offshore wind patents

The UK judge's decision in the patent case cold have major implications for all offshore patents, argues Robbie Gauld

Training won’t bridge offshore wind skills gap alone - we must build competency

Taiwanese local content laws could strangle its nascent offshore wind industry

Taiwan's offshore wind sector has several hurdles to overcome in order to be viable, argues Scott Hsu

Could modularisation and standardisation restore profitability to OEMs?

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Could Mara regulator be a gamechanger for Ireland’s offshore wind?

MARA could unshackle Ireland's offshore wind sector but delays cost investment, warns Elaine Traynor

UK can't afford to waste grid connections for viable wind development

GE’s patent wars with competitors have backfired

When two turbine manufacturers go to war - nobody wins, argues Shashi Barla

Welcome to Schrodinger’s windfall tax on renewables in the UK

The proposed windfall tax on renewables is going to be 'exciting' for investors and generators, warns Adam Bell
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PODCAST Episode 7: Is biggest best
when it comes to wind turbines?

Anders Nielson, chief technology officer for the turbine manufacturer Vestas, discusses why the race for the biggest turbine has to slow down

Podcasts

Unlocking the potential of floating offshore wind

7 November 2022 by Claire Warren

Experts from Corio Generation, Vestas and Northland Power discuss the opportunities and the challenges for this nascent industry

WindEnergy Hamburg round-up with GWEC's Ben Backwell

4 October 2022 by Ian Griggs

Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council, discusses the key themes to emerge from WindEnergy Hamburg.

Waking the 'sleeping giant' of German onshore wind

13 September 2022 by Ian Griggs

Industry specialists discuss how a raft of new policy measures from the German government could ramp up its onshore wind industry.

How will SGRE-GE court battle affect US offshore wind?

7 July 2022 by Ian Griggs

The US Business Network for Offshore Wind discusses SGRE and GE’s court battle and Biden’s big policy announcement.

Windpower Monthly’s new podcast

Will war in Ukraine lead to faster energy transition?

4 May 2022 by Ian Griggs

Vestas, Acciona and the European Commission discuss whether the war has sharpened minds on green energy roll-out

Windpower Monthly’s new podcast

Is the EU's 480GW wind target for 2030 realistic?

19 April 2022 by Claire Warren

WindEurope's CEO Giles Dickson joins us to discuss whether we can hit the EU's ambitious wind target

Discover

WEG installed the AGW 147/4.2 prototype at a site in Tamil Nadu, India

Exclusive: WEG bets on Indian wind market with 4.2MW prototype

16 January 2023 by Craig Richard

Brazilian industrial conglomerate WEG has installed a 4.2MW prototype wind turbine in India – a power rating significantly higher than the national average.

Images: Getty Images, Vestas, GE, Siemens Gamesa, Goldwind

2022: Windpower Monthly's review of the year

23 December 2022 by Ian Griggs, Craig Richard and Hannah Holt

Windpower Monthly's editorial team is now on leave for the Christmas break. We will be back on 3 January, but in the meantime, read our review of the year and a selection of our features and analysis from 2022.

The demonstration ACP100 small modular reactor at the Changjiang nuclear power plant in China is under construction (pic credit: Luo Yunfei/China News Service via Getty Images)

WindEconomics: Can small nuclear compete with wind power on cost?

4 January 2023 by David Milborrow

Small modular reactors (SMRs) – defined as those with an electrical output of 300MW or less – are claimed to be a low-carbon alternative to gas and coal-fired power stations because they deliver a steady output.

Equinor's Hywind Tampen project off Norway is the largest floating project to date (Pic credit: Equinor)

Why California’s floating auction underperformed the New York Bight

9 December 2022 by Ros Davidson

The winning bids in the provisional results of this week’s California offshore auction were significantly lower than in previous US offshore auctions, primarily because of one factor – the ultra-deep waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Italy's first offshore wind farm came online earlier this year (pic credit: Renexia )

Analysis: Italy looks to offshore wind for growth

30 November 2022 by Heather O’Brian

Italy is getting serious about expanding capacity in Italian waters, with floating technology featuring heavily in developers' plans. But there is work to do to create the right framework for tenders and avoid permitting delays.

NGC is now focusing on medium-speed drivetrains, including this 13.5-15.0MW gearbox, which many OEM’s prefer to high-speed systems for large offshore turbine. Note the (horizontal) gearbox side torque support

Exclusive: Eize de Vries reviews NGC's leap in torque density for 18MW powertrain

28 November 2022 by Eize de Vries

Nanjing High Speed Gear Manufacturing Company (NGC), one of the world’s largest wind-turbine gearbox suppliers, presents its strong roadmap with a focus on medium-speed drivetrains. Eize de Vries finds out more.

A fully assembled gravity tripod for a 14-16MW-plus class turbine will weigh around 7,500-8,500 tonnes

Exclusive analysis: Eize de Vries reviews 'gamechanging' bottom-fixed substructure solution

23 November 2022 by Eize de Vries

UK-based OWLC is hoping to challenge the dominance of monopile offshore substructures with a novel gravity tripod concept in full concrete. Eize de Vries hears more from the company's CEO, Matt Bleasdale.

Meteorologists are investigating the connection between wind farms and lightning strikes during thundersnow incidents (pic credit: Giles Clarke/Getty Images)

Do turbines make the weather? Meteorologist investigates repeated thundersnow in US

6 December 2022 by Ros Davidson

Scientists in the US are investigating a possible connection between thundersnow – a phenomenon combining heavy snow and thunder – and whether wind turbines are increasingly vulnerable to lightning strikes

CEO Jochen Eickholt believes Siemens Gamesa’s 2023 fiscal year will be similarly marked by cost inflation, supply chain disruptions and geopolitical risks

Siemens Gamesa records huge net loss for full-year results

10 November 2022 by Craig Richard

Siemens Gamesa reported a net loss of €940 million for its 2022 fiscal year (1 October 2021-30 September 2022) and faces a 'transition year' ahead, but CEO Jochen Eickholt said the firm is on course for profitable growth.

Hydrogen feature button

Does hydrogen hold the key to a green future?

1 November 2022 by Heather O’Brian

It’s easy to assume it will play a pivotal role in the energy transition. But can we afford to divert up to 500TWh of renewable power to it in Europe alone when wind capacity is not being deployed fast enough to meet existing targets?

Technology

Eolink eyes Black Sea test for pyramid-shaped floating wind design

Eolink is developing a pyramid-shaped floating wind turbine concept with the nacelle supported by four masts rather than a single tower

Portugal eyes 10GW offshore wind by 2030, with first tender this year

Ocean Winds' 25MW Windfloat Atlantic floating offshore wind pilot project is installed in Portuguese waters (pic credit: Vestas)

US faces wind manufacturing squeeze despite IRA – Wood Mackenzie

Wood Mackenzie expects the US’ domestic annual renewables investment to increase from $64 billion in 2022 to nearly $114 billion by 2031 (pic credit: Siemens Gamesa)

EU backs multi-terminal offshore wind transmission research

Industry body WindEurope forecasts that by 2030 about one-third of EU offshore wind capacity will be multi-terminal (pic credit: Siemens Energy)

European firm plans six new blade recycling factories in Europe

Today, most of a wind turbine can be recycled – though due to blades using complex composite materials, they are typically sent to landfill or co-processed into cement (pic credit: Continuum)

MingYang launches 18MW offshore wind turbine with industry’s largest rotor

MingYang's newly unveiled MySE 18.X-28X features a power rating of 18MW and a rotor diameter of more than 280 metres

CSSC Haizhuang unveils nacelle for 18MW offshore turbine

CSSC Haizhuang has already produced several components for the H260-18MW turbine, including the nacelle (above)

Norwegian duo backs aluminium trial for new floating design

World Wide Wind is designing a turbine that features two omni-directional rotors on a leaning, single tower structure, anchored to the seabed with a mooring system

MingYang plans 8.5MW onshore wind turbine

MingYang Smart Energy "recently released" its 7.15MW model, which is in the same platform as its 8.5MW turbine

Vestas’ 15MW offshore wind turbine generates first power

Vestas' V236-15.0MW turbine at the Østerild national test centre for large turbines in western Jutland, Denmark

Business and finance

‘IRA a real gamechanger’ for US renewables – GE chief

General Electric CEO Larry Culp Jr described the Inflation Reduction Act as a "gamechanger" for renewable energy

GE Renewable Energy confirms $2.2 billion 2022 loss

GE Renewable Energy confirming its $2.2 billion loss for 2022 comes as turbine manufacturers report continuing heavy losses amid inflation and supply chain disruptions

Offshore wind farm divestment drives Ørsted’s record 2022 profits

High-value divestsments of half of Hornsea 2 (above) annd Borkum Riffgrund 3 drove Ørsted to record profit levels in 2022

Siemens Gamesa posts large Q1 loss amid product failures

Siemens Gamesa's headquarters in Zamudio, Spain (pic credit: Europa Press News/Getty Images)

Ørsted acquires remaining stake in US wind farm named in patent dispute

The Ocean Wind 1 project is planned off Long Beach, New Jersey (Pic credit: Pam Ullman)

CIP acquires half of Statkraft’s 2.2GW Irish offshore wind pipeline

Ireland's only operating offshore wind project is Arklow Bank in the Irish Sea off the country's east coast (pic credit: SSE)

Nordex’s wind turbine order intake falls in ‘challenging’ 2022

Nordex saw "robust demand" for turbines in the 5MW and 6MW class in 2022 (pic credit: U Mertens)

Discovery of Europe’s ‘largest deposit’ of rare earth metals could secure industry's supply

Mining giant LKAB thinks it has discovered Europe's largest deposit of rare earth metals (Credit: LKAB)

EDP to sue Romania and Poland over green energy windfall taxes

EDP Renewables operates 697MW of renewable energy capacity in Poland, including the 70MW Budzyn project

Massachusetts approves Commonwealth and Mayflower PPAs despite objections

Avangrid is a subsidiary of Spanish firm Iberdrola Group, which recently agreed to sell a 49% stake in its 350MW Wikinger offshore wind farm

Market and policy

Controversial German wind farm wins seabird lawsuit

A single red-throated diver swimming in the sea (pic credit: Trudie Davidson/Getty Images)

Wind giants' CEOs urge faster energy transition at Davos

Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen in an interview with CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (pic credit: CNBC)

US officials: ‘No evidence’ whale deaths connected to offshore wind surveys

Federal officials say there is no evidence of a connection between offshore wind surveys and a spate of whale deaths (image credit: Artie Raslich/Getty Images)

Poland set to ease onshore wind setback rules

Poland has just over 6.9GW of operational onshore wind capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence (pic credit: Ignitis)

Google, Meta and Amazon lead on US renewable energy consumption - report

Google in the US is one of the top buyers of wind power, according to the ACP (Image credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

German permitting problem lingers despite onshore wind growth

Germany added a net 2.1GW of onshore wind capacity last year (pic credit: Nordex)

German offshore wind ‘lacks manufacturing capacity and skilled workers'

All turbines at RWE’s 342MW Kaskasi project started delivering power to the grid in late 2022 – the only new German offshore wind additions last year

Clarify IRA, scale workforce and mind the inflation gap, Siemens Gamesa tells US policymakers

Siemens Gamesa has set out the challenges and opportunities for US wind in a white paper (Image credits: Getty Images)

US to streamline offshore wind permitting process

The US currently has just 42MW of operational offshore wind capacity, including the 30MW Block Island project (pic credit: ACP)

India plans 8GW annual wind auctions under reformed bidding process

The Indian government has reformed its bidding process as it seeks to quicken the pace of the renewable roll-out (Image: Kriangkrai Thitimakorn/Getty Images)

Project development

Germany maps out sites for offshore wind expansion

Germany currently has 8GW of installed offshore wind capacity, according to the BSH (pic credit: Matthias Ibeler/RWE)

Tunisia plans to tender 600MW wind in next three years

Tunisia has 242MW of operational wind power capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence (pic credit: Fethi Belaid/Getty Images)

Chinese OEM Windey in line for Serbian wind farms

Windey has previously supplied wind turbines for projects in China, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Serbia, according to a presentation on its website

UK signs new seabed leases for offshore wind giants

The Crown Estate has now awarded sites that could support 41GW of offshore wind capacity. Around 12GW of that capacity is already operational (pic credit: Ørsted)

Masdar eyes gigawatt-scale wind farms in Asia

Dome of the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan city, Kazakhstan (pic credit: Evgenii Zotov/Getty Images)

Eni partners with Simply Blue to boost Italian offshore wind pipeline

The Krimisa project is located about 45 kilometers off the coast of Crotone, Calabria (pic credit: Giorgio Morara/Getty Images)

Ørsted adds 15GW to Swedish offshore wind pipeline

Ørsted has developed offshore wind farms around the world – and is now targeting a further 18GW in Swedish waters

SSE Renewables enters race for Dutch offshore wind

SSE has previously developed projects off the coasts of the UK and Ireland, including the 588MW Beatrice project

'Too early' to connect whale deaths to offshore wind development

Seven dead whales have washed up on the New Jersey-New York coastline since early December (pic credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

RWE plans major green ammonia development in Chile

RWE is planning its massive green ammonia plant in Magallanes, Chile’s southernmost region (pic credit: Amit Misra/Getty Images)

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