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.
PNE Wind rebrands with new strategy
GERMANY: PNE Wind has rebranded to reflect its repositioning as a "clean energy solutions provider", working in solar PV, storage and hydrogen, as well as wind.
Standardisation to overcome offshore market barriers, Irena claims
WORLDWIDE: Standardisation will be crucial in the development of offshore wind to enable cost reductions, mitigate technical risks, help foster public acceptance and ease integration into onshore grid systems, according to a new report.
Gamesa turbine catches fire at UK wind farm
UK: A 2MW Gamesa turbine caught fire after thunderstorms battered England's east coast.
News and Analysis
SGRE steps up offering with custom drone and robot
SPAIN: With margins being squeezed in auction after auction, project operators are placing more focus on getting every cent they can from their projects through good operations and maintenance (O&M) regimes.
Turbine service company trains refugees
GERMANY: A project named "Empower Refugees" to train refugees living in Germany to service wind turbines has been launched in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
AWEA 2018: Offshore hubs to spring up on Atlantic coast
UNITED STATES: The US offshore wind industry will be centred around two or three ports on the east coast, predicted Paul Vigeant, managing director of the New Bedford Wind Energy Centre.
AWEA 2018: MidAmerican 'hustling' ahead of PTC phase-out
UNITED STATES: The new CEO of developer-utility MidAmerican Energy, Adam Wright, told delegates at Windpower 2018 in Chicago (7-10 May) the firm is trying to capture as many projects it can before the Production Tax Credit is phased out.
AWEA 2018: Increase in cyber security attacks 'inevitable', expert warns
UNITED STATES: Cyber security attacks on wind projects will increase in frequency, according to Bruce Bailey, senior technical advisor for energy and power at UL.
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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