Drone vs. Rover Inspections, AI Crack Monitoring, New LPS Inspection Tool
Highlights from Uptime episode 235 & exclusive content
⏱️ 4 min read ⏱️
A Drone, a Rover, and AI walk into a Wind Farm
Which one gives you the best inspection data?
Don’t answer that; it’s a trick question. And there’s really no punchline.
Fresh off the Sandia Blades Workshop and multiple on-site visits across the US midwest, Allen Hall, Joel Saxum, Rosemary Barnes and IntelStor’s Phil Totaro take a deep dive into the current state of inspections, and offer up tips on how operators can stretch their budgets and make the best use of today’s technology. ➡️ Listen now
Technology, Testing, and TOPseven
In Denmark, wind turbine test specialist R&D Test Systems is completing a test bench for main bearings for the Lindo Offshore Renewables Centre (LORC). According to the company, tests will include twisting and bending in all six degrees of freedom. The project is supported by a €10-million grant from the Danish GreenLab program and should be delivered in 2025.
And in Japan, Nikon says a film it developed should result in a 3% increase in wind power generation efficiency. No, it’s not film for cameras (remember that?) but films for turbine blades. Testing is planned at the 57MW Eurus Soya Misaki wind farm on three pairs of 1MW wind turbines.
Germany-based TOPseven has a new take on automated drone inspections: AI and patented sensor technology make it possible to pinpoint the break in a LPS cable, potentially saving a blade from an untimely demise. Joel explains the time- and labor-saving method and highlight some of the ways it improves on current methods.
Links below take you straight to these stories, and more!
Unique US Facility for Wind Turbine Testing
We recently got an exclusive look inside Gulf Wind Technology and learned a lot from CEO James Martin and CTO David King. Especially interesting: the New Orleans-based company’s approach to materials testing and rapid prototyping mean the designs they’re working on will be ready to solve some of the industry’s challenges sooner rather than later. We can’t show you every inch of the facility, but if you watch full screen you’ll get a good look inside!
Our Wind Farm of the Week is…
The 306MW La Joya Wind Farm, located in Torrance County, NM, began commercial operations in 2020. In addition to its stunning sunsets, La Joya is notable because 74 of its 111 turbines are located on state trust land; the remaining turbines sit on private land. The unusual situation came about thanks to cooperation amongst the State’s Governor, its Senators, and Congressional Representatives. Learn more about the Avangrid wind farm in this week’s podcast or see the link below for a snapshot of the business and a few more sunset pics.
⚡️ NEWS FLASH 9/30/24:
➡️ New Interview:
Interesting Finds From Around the Web
Vestas’ largest onshore wind project to date in Japan: 134MW Invenergy order
Exel Composites wins bidding process in India for Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Windar Renovables Starts work on New Monopile Factory in Spain
9 EU nations pledge to turn the Mediterranean into green energy hub
Work progressing on main bearings test bench for 25MW wind turbines
Kineco Exel to manufacture pultruded carbon fiber planks for Vestas
Japan: Verification Test Planned for Nikon's Effiency-Boosting Film
Wind Farm of the Week: Avangrid’s La Joya Wind Farm
ICYMI: Should We Count Coulombs?
Wind Energy Stock Watch
Vestas (VWDRY) $6.96 USD
GE (GE) $186.30 USD
Siemens Energy AG (SMNEY) $37.51 USD
Goldwind (XJNGF) $.67 USD
Iberdrola (IBE.MC) €13.91 EUR
Nordex (NRDXF) $16.45 USD
Stock prices as of close Tuesday October 1, 2024. Note some stocks use OTC Delayed Price.
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