Operations & Maintenance
RSS feedNews & in-depth analysis of wind farm and turbine operations & maintenance, including turbine & blade failure, access, monitoring & control systems, health & safety, refitting, repowering, wind monitoring and site security.
Long-distance wake affects nearly all US sites
Almost 90% of all operational US wind farms in 2016 were close enough to other projects to either cause, or be affected by, wake effects.
German wind output to increase in 2018
Renewables are expected to cover 38% of gross electricity consumption in Germany in 2018, according to preliminary figures, up two percentage points from last year, with grid upgrades also on the horizon.
'Bend-twist coupling' tests begin
Blades equipped with 'bend-twist coupling', which enables them to react to varying wind speeds, will be tested by the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems (IWES).
News and Analysis
How Europe's wind drought and heat wave hit owners and operators
The summer heat wave that swept across Europe caused record-breaking temperatures, wildfires and, according to some analyses, an increased death toll.
GALLERY: 'First' offshore repowering completed
SWEDEN: Other developers have opted simply to decommission aged offshore wind farms as they reach the end of their life-cycle. Danish company Momentum, however, has carried out what it claims is the first partial repowering of an offshore wind farm.
Repowering boosted UK projects' capacity by 171%
UK: The UK could benefit from an additional 5.5GW of capacity through repowering of onshore projects approaching the end of the 25-year licences, new research from Cardiff University suggested.
Wind resources 20% higher in India's monsoon season
INDIA: Wind speeds in some regions of India during this year's monsoon season were up to 20% higher than long-term averages, according to new research.
New icing-detection software launched
CANADA: AI software company Clir Renewables has launched a new programme to detect icing on turbine blades and measure its impact on performance.
In depth
Managing increasingly diverse wind portfolios
One of the most common challenges faced by wind-farm portfolio owners in today's market is that of asset diversity. Diversity takes many forms within a portfolio -- asset age, wind-farm size, turbine technology, IT systems, service provision model, wind climate and location among them.
WindEconomics: Database reveals long life of US turbines
UNITED STATES: A recently released database of American wind turbines provides evidence that lifetimes of 20 years or more can easily be realised, with the oldest machines having been commissioned 37 years ago in 1981.
Comparing offshore output for 2017
GERMANY/UK: Offshore wind generation is rising as capacity grows, but how did individual sites perform during 2017? Windpower Monthly looks at key German and UK offshore projects.
Three steps to turbine repowering
UNITED STATES: By 2018, almost a third of installed wind power capacity in the US will be at least a decade old -- a total of almost 25GW.
Review of 2017 - part two
WORLDWIDE: The second half 2017 was difficult for many of the major OEMs with a drop off in the Indian market a key factor. Windpower Monthly takes a look at this trend and the other big stories from the second half of 2017.
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