Episódios
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Experts from across the industry discuss how to optimise blade performance and reduce the cost of operations and maintenance.
Recorded at our Blades USA conference, held in Austin, Texas, earlier this year, this episode of the Wind Power podcast features speakers from Vestas, RWE, the Electric Power Research Institute in the US, Envision and Aerones.
What emerged loud and clear from the discussions is just how far the industry has come over the last decade but also the challenges brought by the rapid growth in blade length in recent years.
Bigger blades bring bigger challenges and blade failures can happen in unexpected ways. In an industry where the cost of maintenance and downtime can be very high, identifying whether a blade defect is cosmetic or structural and, crucially, how much time there is before that defect turns critical, is becoming increasingly important.
According to our experts, drones, robotics and artificial intelligence will all increasingly play their part as this industry develops, particularly given the workforce challenges facing the industry and the limited weather windows for carrying out blade maintenance.
This episode features Noah Myrent, a senior technical leader at the Electric Power Research Institute, Kevin Standish, director of the Global Blade Innovation Center at Envision Energy, Pasquale Braione, head of global repair at Vestas, Arnold Wilmink, VP of reliability engineering for the Americas at RWE and Greta Krumina, regional manager for North America at Aerones.
The episode was produced by by Inga Marsden
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This time in the news review: Major Western wind companies have released quarterly and full-year results but what do they tell us about the overall health of the wind industry? Meanwhile, several wind giants have announced – in the wake of their financial results – that they will narrow their focus on markets, but what is the strategy and what does it mean for the markets not chosen?
Following their joint award of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering last month, wind industry pioneers Henrik Stiesdal and Andrew Garrad told Windpower Monthly that the so-called turbine ‘arms race’ must stop – but is anyone listening, especially developers?
Finally, we ask our panellists how they think geopolitical events – such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, the continuing attacks on merchant shipping in the red sea and Donald Trump becoming the presumptive Republican nominee in the forthcoming US presidential elections – are affecting the wind industry.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Nav Pal and Inga Marsden
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WindEurope chair and Nordex CEO José Luis Blanco discusses EU policy, a looming trade war with China and whether the consensus on the energy transition is holding two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of trade body WindEurope’s annual three-day conference - to be held in Bilbao from March 20 - Blanco examines some of the key policy developments to emerge since the start of the year, including the European Wind Charter and the forthcoming Net Zero Industry Act.
In episode 22 of the Wind Power Podcast, Blanco explains the significance of these policy developments for European turbine firms, developers and the wider supply chain.
Blanco also gave his opinion on whether a trade war between the EU and China is likely in the coming years and what the effect of that might be on the industry.
And he gave his thoughts on whether the hard-won consensus on the urgent need to transition towards renewables and away from reliance on Russian gas, forged in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, is still intact two years on.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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What do the winning entries in this year’s Turbines of the Year awards tell us about the trends at work in wind power technology and why did the gold medallists win?
In episode 21 of the Wind Power podcast, Windpower Monthly’s editor and deputy editor are joined by technology and market trends correspondent – and Turbines of the Year judge – Eize de Vries to discuss the awards
Last month, Windpower Monthly published the winners of the coveted Turbines of the Year awards. The categories included onshore and offshore wind turbines, blades, drivetrains and innovations.
But what do the winning entries in each category tell us about the wider trends influencing the fast-paced world of wind power and what new technologies could be announced this year?
Meanwhile, what must wind power technology companies do to enter the next Turbines of the Year awards and what are the ingredients of a winning entry?
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Welcome to the ‘Wind Power’ news review – hosted by Windpower Monthly’s editor, Claire Warren, and deputy editor, Ian Griggs, with a panel of expert guests.
This time in the news review: An academic has reopened the debate on turbine sizes, claiming that bigger is better after all, while it also emerged that Siemens Gamesa is due to test the prototype of a new offshore turbine which could be the most powerful in the world - is the fragile consensus among Western OEMs on turbine sizes about to be broken?
Also, two separate reports reveal a similar truth: we are not moving fast enough on wind power installation targets to meet ambitious COP28 and EU goals, but what can be done about it?
Meanwhile, developers suffered a series of legal setbacks over the last few weeks over threats to endangered species and trespassing on land. As the rate of deployment increases, legal challenges will become more common and the wind industry will have to up its game on community engagement or risk more court battles.
Finally, we ask whether floating wind technology is progressing as originally hoped and we ask our panellists for their predictions for the year ahead in wind.
Our panellists are Shashi Barla - director and head of research in renewable energy at the Brinkman Group – and by Will Sheard - director of analysis and due diligence at the consultancy firm K2 Management.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and Inga Marsden
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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As wind power’s contribution to the global energy transition grows, insiders are looking to improve sustainable practices within the wind industry itself.
In the latest edition of the Wind Power podcast, Lisa Ekstrand, head of sustainability at Vestas, joins Carbon Rivers’ chief technical officer David Morgan to discuss how both companies are boosting circular economics in the wind industry by developing new ways to recycle turbine blades.
Between 85-90% of a typical wind turbine is already made of recyclable materials like steel. However the turbine blades themselves are often made from composite materials including epoxy resin that is much harder to break down and cannot be recycled so easily.
Numerous prominent companies in the wind industry are now exploring blade recycling in the hopes of growing it to a commercial scale and solving one of the biggest sustainability challenges the industry still faces.
Vestas last year announced it had developed a bespoke, chemical-based process named Cetec (Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites) which it claims can effectively break down the epoxy resin “superglue” which holds blade composites together and thereby reclaim the blade materials for recycling.
Carbon Rivers meanwhile worked with the US Department of Energy to develop its own way to break down the composite materials within wind turbine blades using a process similar to pyrolysis.
Ekstrand and Morgan discussed why recycling turbine blades is so important for sustainability in the wind industry, and why employing the reclaimed materials anywhere they can be useful is the most important outcome when it comes to circular economics.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Welcome to the ‘Wind Power’ news review – hosted by Windpower Monthly’s editor, Claire Warren, and deputy editor, Ian Griggs, with a panel of expert guests.
This time in the news review: Major Western turbine manufacturers have released quarterly or full-year results, but what do they say about the OEMs relative financial health and which of them is likely to move into profitability first?
Meanwhile, in the wake of Ørsted’s shock cancellation of Ocean Winds 1&2 last month, US regulators and the UK government appear to be heeding developer’s warnings to make projects financially viable, so is the tide turning for offshore wind?
And finally, there are ominous signs of a trade war brewing between the EU and China over what some European wind industry representatives have described as “unfair competition” from their Chinese counterparts but is it necessary and are Chinese OEMs even interested in the European market?
Our panellists are Shashi Barla - director and head of research in renewable energy at the Brinkman Group – and by Will Sheard - director of analysis and due diligence at the consultancy firm K2 Management.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and Inga Marsden
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Senior wind industry figures from GWEC, Vestas and Arup come together to discuss what they want policymakers to agree on at the forthcoming COP28 conference later this month.
Starting on 30 November and running for nearly two weeks the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP28, will bring together world leaders, business and NGOs to discuss the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions caused by fossil fuels - but will global policymakers act decisively?
This year’s conference, to be held in the United Arab Emirates, will include a global stock take of the progress made since the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, in which countries pledged to reduce carbon emissions and step up the roll out of renewable energy in order to limit the potentially devastating effects of climate change – but how far off-course has the world drifted since the agreement was signed?
In the 19th episode of the Wind Power Podcast; Ben Backwell, chief executive of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Morten Dyrholm, group senior vice president of communications and public affairs at turbine manufacturer Vestas, and James Theobolds, director at engineering and sustainability consultancy Arup, come together to discuss what the wind industry will be calling for from world leaders at COP28.
Is the stated aim of tripling renewable energy deployment by 2030 possible, let along realistic? How far off course has the world drifted since the Paris Agreement and has the time now come to override objections to the installation of wind power from the public in the face of the existential threat to human life on Earth?
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and Inga Marsden
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Welcome to the first ‘Wind Power’ news review – hosted by Windpower Monthly’s editor, Claire Warren, and deputy editor, Ian Griggs, with a panel of expert guests.
This time in the news review: Did we dream too big on offshore wind and will inflation force the industry – and policymakers - to recalibrate pricing or deployment targets?
The Contract for Difference mechanism was once seen as the gold standard but is it still fit for purpose in the current inflationary environment, especially after the failed CfD auction in the UK?
And the trouble at Siemens Gamesa. The turbine manufacturer and its parent company face serious challenges but is there a point at which its financial losses become unsustainable - and who is best-placed to lead it back to profitability?
For this episode, we’re joined by our panelists Shashi Barla - director and head of research in renewable energy at the Brinkman Group – and by Will Sheard - director of analysis and due diligence at the consultancy firm K2 Management.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Indigenous and first nations communities are being confronted by wind energy developments on their traditional lands, causing legal battles and protests to flare.
Is this an inevitable conflict? Or is there space for a mutually beneficial coexistence?
Orlando Jenkinson, reporter for Windpower Monthly, discusses these issues across three interviews that make up Episode 18 of the Windpower Podcast.
In the first, Larry Wright Junior, the executive director of the National Congress for American Indians, describes why the organisation is calling for a pause on offshore wind developments in the US, and how the federal government could help ensure Native American sovereignty is respected to avoid similar disruptions in the future.
The episode also explores the growing protests against wind farms among the indigenous Sami communities of Norway. Aslak Holmberg, president of the Sami Council, recounts how Sami communities face the loss of their traditional culture as reindeer herders due to the impact of wind farms on their grazing lands, despite winning the support of the Norwegian Supreme Court in a recent decision.
Situations like these echo the historic oppression of first nations peoples. However, alternative, constructive relationships of mutual benefit can also be imagined.
Arash Moalemi from the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, and Tyler Hoffbuhr from developer Avangrid, describe what one such case might look like while discussing the pair’s new joint venture in the southwestern United States.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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British wind power pioneer Andrew Garrad has worked in the industry for more than four decades, from the early ‘Wild West’ days of trial and error in the late 1970s.
Now semi-retired, Garrad – who received a pioneer award at the Global Wind Energy Council’s ‘One Terawatt’ party earlier this year - is nonetheless still active in helping communities to harness wind power for themselves.
In the seventeenth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to Garrad about a professional life spent in the wind industry.
The conversation covered his experience of the ‘Wild West’ days of trial and error in the wind industry in the late 1970s, how we arrived at the turbine models seen as the industry-standard today and how long he thinks it will take to install the next global terawatt of wind power.
Garrad also identifies the global markets he thinks are the most exciting today, what national governments should do now to enable wind power and comments on the so-called ‘arms-race’ in turbine sizes.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Global offshore wind deployment is happening in greater volumes, at an increasingly frenetic pace but is the industry becoming a safer place to work in as it matures?
In the sixteenth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to Rakesh Maharaj founder of safety & training organization ARMSA Academy, and Anna Hilden, global industry manager for offshore wind at StormGeo,
According to our expert guests several factors may be working against safer working environment in offshore wind.
These include a relentless drive by industry players to reduce costs and maintain the profitability of wind projects, an industry awash with innovation in which change is the only constant, and even the structure of multi-level contracts, in which developers seek to transfer the responsibility for risk-mitigation further down the supply chain.
On the face of it, data from the annual G+ offshore wind safety report show the number of incidents which could be of concern is decreasing, even as hours worked in the offshore installation rise sharply, but do these figures show us a complete picture and can the industry players learn anything meaningful from them to enhance their own safety procedures?
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is expected to double the size of the US market over the next ten years, but is the industry fully equipped to meet all of the benefits on offer?
With clarity of the details in the IRA beginning to emerge, it is clear that it will have a transformative effect on the US market. But in order to fully realise the benefits, turbine firms will need to make massive up-front investments in new manufacturing facilities based in the US to satisfy domestic content requirements or else bring existing facilities out of hibernation to ramp up production.
The potential rewards are huge for hard-pressed turbine manufacturers which can find the necessary capital to invest but some are better placed than others to do so.
Meanwhile, there are worrying signs that the political consensus on wind power at federal level in the US has begun to unravel and a presidential election is looming on the horizon. What could the outcome mean for the IRA and the companies which are banking on it?
Finally, Europe has proposals but no firm legislation in place to compete with the IRA so does the bloc risk being left behind?
In the fifteenth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Shashi Barla, head of renewables research at Brinckmann Group, and John Begala, policy chief for the US Business Network for Offshore Wind, discuss whether the industry is ready to reap the benefits of the biggest policy driver in the history of the wind.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Vic Abate, chief executive of GE Vernova’s onshore wind division as well as GE's chief technology officer, is one of the most senior people working in the wind industry today
A former CEO of GE’s renewable energy division from 2005 to 2013, Abate has been with the company for more than twenty years and he can trace a line in his career from when wind power was in its infancy through to today’s global energy transition.
In the fourteenth episode of the Wind Power podcast - recorded at the recent WindEurope conference in Copenhagen - Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, caught up with Abate to ask him how President Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act will affect the fortunes of GE in the coming decade, how the legislation compares with Europe’s proposals and why the company is cutting the number of turbine variants it offers.
This episode was recorded at WindEurope's annual event in Copenhagen, produced by Czarina Deen, and researched by Craig Richard.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The threat of cyber attacks on the wind industry’s remote control systems for turbines and other equipment is all too real and it is growing by the day, with potentially disastrous consequences for companies which do not understand the dangers they face.
As the industry becomes increasingly reliant on remote systems to control the operations of offshore wind farms, the so-called ‘attack surface’ grows with them. Meanwhile, the energy transition - in which Europe attempts to pivots away from Russian fossil fuels - brings with it a higher likelihood of cyber attacks which originate from state actors.
In the thirteenth episode of the Wind Power podcast - recorded at the WindEurope conference in Copenhagen last month - Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly spoke to three cybersecurity professionals about the nature of the threat and how the wind industry can guard itself against them.
Boye Tranum, DNV’s director of cybersecurity, Bart Van den Bossche and Tijl Deneut - both cybersecurity experts at Ebo Enterprises - discuss how to assess and counter the threats which face the industry, where responsibility for cybersecurity in companies lies under the new ‘NIS2’ directive, and why people are the weakest link but also the best defence against cyber attacks.
This episode was recorded at the WindEurope Annual Event in Copenhagen and produced by Czarina Deen
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Last year Europe as a whole commissioned 19.1GW of new wind power capacity (16.7GW for EU-27 member states), according to WindEurope, up 4% (40% for the EU-27 states) from the previous year. That takes Europe’s operational wind power capacity past the 250GW mark but still falls well short of what’s needed to hit climate and energy goals.
From the perennial problem of long waits for permits and grid connections through to nimbyism, ever-increasing turbine sizes and the chicken-and-egg situation that is holding the roll-out of wind power back, there are plenty of issues keeping the industry awake at night. But, as the guests on our podcast point out, this is an industry that is willing - and able - to rise to the challenge.
The technology is there and wind, given the right conditions, can be built at speed.
Matilda Afzelius, CEO for the Nordics at RES, Alexander Fløtre, who heads up offshore wind research at Rystad Energy, Jon Salazar, founder and CEO at Gazelle Wind Power, Joachim Koefoed, who heads up public affairs across Europe for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Tom Walker, head of onshore wind at Statkraft in the UK, and Eric Jan Bijvank, director Europe & Africa at Fugro join Windpower Monthly editor Claire Warren to discuss some of the challenges - and how we might address them.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was recorded at the WindEurope Annual Event in Copenhagen and produced by Czarina Deen.
Further reading
'EU must restore confidence' as 2022 additions lag climate targets – WindEurope
EU's Net Zero Industry Act 'falls short' of driving 36GW annual wind turbine production – WindEurope
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Speaking ahead of the start of the WindEurope conference in Copenhagen next Tuesday (25 April) Sven Utermöhlen - chair of the trade group and chief executive of offshore wind for RWE - discusses the EU’s package of measures to stimulate the wind industry.
Last month, the European Commission proposed a package of measures which, if enacted, could help boost the fortunes of the wind industry in member states as well as speeding up the roll out of renewable energy.
They include a ‘Net Zero industry act’, which could boost member states’ permitting capacity and reform auction criteria for new wind farms, they also include ‘Electricity market reforms’ which could expand the use of corporate power purchase agreements across the continent, and a ‘critical raw materials act’ which seeks to secure Europe’s supply of the essential components the wind industry needs for future expansion.
In the eleventh episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, talked to Utermöhlen about whether the EU’s package is sufficient to help the industry, how it compares with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) policy in the US policy and where the EU could go further and faster.
The conversation also touched on what skills the wind industry needs now and how to plug the skills gap effectively.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and researched by Craig Richard and Orlando Jenkinson
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Elizabeth Klein, the new chief at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), discusses the route ahead for offshore wind in the US.
Klein was appointed as the new director of BOEM in January and has been a member of Biden’s administration since it took office, initially serving as senior counsellor to US secretary of the interior Deb Haaland.
She has also served two previous presidents and was a key architect of the Obama administration's work to create a new offshore wind industry and leasing programme.
In the tenth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, talked to Klein about minimising conflict with other sea users during the site-selection stage for auctions, the likely impact of Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act and whether last year’s offshore wind tender in California underperformed expectations.
Klein was asked whether she thinks a recent spate of whale deaths off the Atlantic coast was being leveraged to galvanise opposition to offshore wind and for her view on how the wind industry should tackle the under representation of women and people from ethnic minorities in senior roles.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and researched by Craig Richard
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Turbine blades represent up to a third of the cost of a wind turbine but they do not yet benefit from the sophistication of sensor technology which exists in its other components, so are they the poor relation?
The evidence is that, as blades get larger, issues such as leading edge erosion – and its cumulative effect on annual energy production – will get worse and other types of repairs more frequent.
So what does the near future of blade inspections and maintenance look like, how big will they get and what is the effect on public opinion towards wind when turbine blades experience a catastrophic failure?
Finally, Episode Nine explores whether owner-operators of wind farms and turbine manufacturers can resolve the current stalemate between the need for detailed information to run a wind farm at optimum efficiency on one hand and OEMs protecting commercial sensitivities in a highly competitive marketplace.
Ahead of the return of the Blades USA forum in Texas next month, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to two of the key speakers from the forthcoming conference: Carsten Westergaard, president of Westergaard Solutions, and Katelyn Reynolds, manager of operations and engineering at owner-operator Invenergy.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Experts from the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, DNV and Bellona discuss green hydrogen’s potential as a component of the renewable energy transition.
Green hydrogen has the potential to decarbonize the industry sectors that will be hardest to electrify in the coming energy transition to a renewables based energy system. But what is the best way to achieve that goal? What obstacles lie in its way? And what is the opportunity/cost of producing it in sufficient quantities?
As ever, there will be hurdles to overcome - from showing leadership in policy choices, to creating a viable market place capable of attracting investors.
In the eighth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, is joined by Francois Paquet, impact director at the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, Marta Lovisolo, policy adviser on renewable energy systems at Bellona, Europa, and Magnus Killingland, hydrogen lead for northern Europe at DNV.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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