Wind Power

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

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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

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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

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Anders Nielsen, chief technology officer for the turbine manufacturer Vestas, discusses why the race for the biggest turbine has to stop.

In the seventh episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, had a wide-ranging discussion with Nielsen about the current health of the turbine industry.

Subjects on the agenda included how keep the whole wind industry supply chain solvent – and the role of turbine manufacturers within that – as well as whether a level playing field currently exists between Europe and China for OEMs. 

The conversation also covered the uneven distribution of profit across the industry, whether turbine customers need to shoulder more of the risk and how big turbines can and should get if the industry wants to build them at scale and meet global demand.

Nielsen also gave his view on COP27 and what form reparations to countries drastically affected by climate change should take.

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen

Opinion: Wind industry must slow down turbine development to speed up the offshore rollout

Vestas launches new 15MW offshore wind turbine with 236-metre rotor

Siemens Gamesa chief calls for EU turbine quota to protect industry from ‘unfair’ Chinese competition

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In the sixth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Claire Warren, editor of Windpower Monthly, is joined by Jonathan Cole, CEO of Corio Generation, Vicky O'Connor, technical manager for development in Europe at Northland Power, and Pablo Necochea, lead advisor for the floating segment at Vestas.

Floating offshore wind offers enormous potential for countries, particularly those whose coastal waters are too deep for conventional offshore wind. But this is an industry that is still in its infancy. 

Currently, there is little in the way of operational capacity and, although we have tried and tested floater concepts, we are a long way from having enough port space and heavy engineering capacity to facilitate the mass production needed for the industry to truly take off.

But the benefits are clear and in the longer term floating wind will likely be central to global decarbonisation efforts and the drive to hit net zero by 2050.

So where will it take off first, what are the hurdles, how can we overcome them and, crucially, what do governments need to do to facilitate rapid deployment? 

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and recorded at WindEnergy Hamburg where Windpower Monthly was the official podcast partner.

Video: X1 Wind installs floating platform prototype in Spain

Stiesdal platform set for 100MW North Sea floating offshore wind demonstrator

Corio and Q-Energy team up to explore floating wind in Spain

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In the fifth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, had a wide-ranging conversation with Backwell which included how the wind industry should respond to the ongoing energy crisis.

Also up for discussion was the subject of how to attract and retain the expanded – and skilled - workforce the industry desperately needs in order to achieve ambitious deployment targets as well as whether there are sunnier times ahead for struggling turbine manufacturers.

In the closing moments of this episode, Backwell also laid out a controversial view of which country currently has the most favourable policy backdrop for the wind industry. 

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.

Qualified workforce is ‘biggest’ supply-chain challenge for offshore wind

Raw materials, logistics and policy: The challenges facing OEMs in 2022

Siemens Gamesa demands Europe-wide action to safeguard wind industry

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

The German government looks set to pass a range of measures which could drastically cut permitting times for new onshore wind farms and repowering existing ones. There are also plans to restructure its grid.

Slashing permitting times for new onshore wind farms from the current average of around seven years could be exactly the sort of lifesaving measure needed by turbine manufacturers to stimulate demand for their products.

But new repowering rules could also prove transformative for the German market, because they have the potential to make better use of land which has already been set aside for wind farms.

How are German people likely to respond to more wind farms becoming part of their landscapes and has public opinion in the country changed since the war in Ukraine?

In the fourth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to the German Wind Energy Association and to the turbine manufacturer, Nordex.

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.

Onshore wind breakthrough as Germany green lights 10GW a year from 2025

Nordex to raise €212 million from rights issue as short-term headwinds bite

Analysis: GE faces mounting impacts from SGRE patent case loss

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The US offshore wind industry has reached a pivotal moment, with a favourable policy announcement from the Biden administration which could transform the fortunes of its nascent supply chain.

Everything from a skilled workforce to meet the growing needs of the industry, through to critical infrastructure and the construction of wind turbine installation vessels could be enhanced by the measures – while the whole offshore wind industry can only benefit from the president’s personal focus.

But as two of the world’s major turbine manufacturers lock horns in a US court over an intellectual property dispute, it’s clear that the wind industry must find ways to collaborate rather than simply compete in order to make the best of the economic benefits to come.

In the third episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to two members of the US Business Network for Offshore Wind (BNOW) to get their take on the latest developments.

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.

Could SGRE’s IP court battle with GE have implications for the entire wind industry?

Jury awards royalties after verdict in GE vs SGRE court battle

Siemens Gamesa vs GE court case: '60GW US offshore wind exposed to intellectual property risk'

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The tragic war in Ukraine has claimed thousands of lives, driven millions from their homes and destroyed vital infrastructure.

But amid the daily cost in human suffering, there is also a feeling in Europe that the war has achieved what the slower moving crisis of climate change could not, by galvanising policymakers towards a swifter transition to renewable energy.

But is this a moment in time? Or will we come to view this point in history as the real turning point in the transition to clean energy?

In the second episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, Deputy Editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to one of the largest turbine manufacturers in the world, a wind farm developer and a European policy maker.

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen.

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

Governments join pledge to accelerate offshore wind

Vestas announces ‘complete withdrawal’ from Russia

EU outlines plan to reduce energy dependence on Russia

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We are at a pivotal moment for European wind power. The climate crisis and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have left no one in any doubt about the need to roll out renewable energy as fast as possible.

The EU wants to end Russian energy imports by 2030 and expand wind energy from 190GW today to 480GW by 2030. But is it a realistic goal, given the challenges facing the wind industry? 

Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, firmly believes it is. In our first ever Wind Power podcast he talks to Claire Warren, Editor of Windpower Monthly, about what it will take for the industry to deliver.

This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and recorded at WindEurope’s annual event in Bilbao.

EU outlines plan to reduce energy dependence on Russia

Wind power ‘can help deliver European energy independence’ from Russia – WindEurope

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