windpower engineering & development june 2015

The technical resource for wind profitability

Online classes that count / Software page 32June 2015 www.windpowerengineering.com

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I N N O V A T O R S & I N F L U E N C E R S I S S U E

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The technical resource for wind profitability

Online classes that count / Software page 32June 2015 www.windpowerengineering.com

Lidar just for yaw correction

PAGE 16

I N N O V A T O R S & I N F L U E N C E R S I S S U E

DRONES AS BLADE INSPECTORS NOW,

OTHER SERVICES SOON

WPE JUNE 2015_Cover_Vs4.indd 1 6/18/15 6:36 PM

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S e n i o r E d i t o r | W i n d p o w e r E n g i n e e r i n g & D e v e l o p m e n t | m f r o e s e @ w t w h m e d i a . c o m

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As a long-time editor in the field, I’ve had the good fortune of attending AWEA’s WINDPOWER conferences for a number of years and have observed the industry during its early peak,

through tough economic times, right up to today’s concerns over continued wavering federal tax support.

Wind energy has never before offered such low costs for power (it’s dropped 58% between 2009 and 2013), but the last couple of years have been marred by production tax credit (PTC) uncertainty, which also holds true this year. The PTC fully expired at the end of 2014 without signs of renewal this year.

Nevertheless, this year’s WINDPOWER show felt cautiously optimistic and the event held a certain promise and excitement for the industry’s future. Despite some attendees pointing out that numbers were down from last year (by about 10,000, according to rough estimates), concerns over the expired PTC didn’t steal the show.

With remote-controlled drones hovering above more than one exhibit booth, it was tough not to find interest in wind power’s future developments. These data-collecting devices can scan turbine blades for damage, saving service technicians time and risk in climbing turbines. There was also a virtual-reality crane demonstration that might one day serve to train crane operators, and numerous predictive software options, including a Cloud-based “digital wind farm” intended to remotely boost a wind farm’s production.

AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan was on to something when he maintained that wind is now “mainstream” and no longer fighting for establishment as a viable, economic energy alternative. “It’s making up an ever-larger share of the nation’s power mix,” he said during his opening remarks.

It’s clearly also making headlines in the digital world, which means the wind industry is evolving and investing in

the future. It’s doing so through technology and through mainstream companies, such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and IKEA. “These are all big businesses that are seeing good economics in wind,” said wind developer RES Americas’ President, Susan Reilly, during the Opening Session.

Along with big business, the presence of the government’s Department of Energy was also a plus for the industry, giving credibility to its future viability. DOE officials supported the recent release of Wind Vision, a report that sets an ambitious goal of more than doubling U.S. wind power generation from its current 4.5% share to 10% by 2020, 20% by 2030, and 35% by 2050.

Even Secretary Ernest Moniz attended and provided the keynote address, unveiling yet another DOE report: Enabling Wind Power Nationwide. This report demonstrates how the country can successfully deploy wind energy in all 50 states (currently, it’s in 39) by investing in larger turbines that reach greater wind speeds. According to Moniz, this could increase the potential for wind power in the U.S. by 54%.

Kiernan applauded the report, noting how impressively turbines have advanced over the years. He is excited to see what’s next. “Advanced towers, blades, and improved electronics to operate and maintain the turbines are all part of this revolution.”

Maybe an ongoing revolution is what the wind industry can expect because despite a loss of tax support, it’s clear technology is still advancing and support for the industry isn’t wavering. In fact, wind capacity is forecast to grow by 13.0% yet this year and by another 11.3% in 2016, according to the Energy Information Administration.

With or without the PTC, the wind industry can have a promising and productive future. But a road with support is clearly more inviting, especially if wind is going to hit the 50-state mark anytime soon. W

The good, the bad, and the promising from WINDPOWER 2015

JUNE 2015 windpowerengineering.com WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 1

Editorial JUNE 2015_Vs4.indd 1 6/18/15 6:44 PM

ROTH

LASHBROOK

YAÑEZ

SOTO

PARLE

RASPER

ORSZULAK

DORWORTH

SHEARER

MAGNOTTI

LIVINGSTONE

LOU DORWORTH has been involved with the advanced composites industry since 1978 and has worked at Abaris Training since 1989, where he currently manages the Direct Services Division. By trade Dorworth is a composite materials and process specialist, and he has a background in repair of advanced composite structures. He is co-author of the textbook Essentials of Advanced Composite Fabrication & Damage Repair.

BRIAN ROTH is Antaira Technologies’ Marketing Product Engineer. Roth graduated with his B.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cal Poly Pomona.

JOHN SALENTINE is co-founded and VP of Hammerhead Industries, the manufacturer of Gear Keeper tethering systems. The company manufactures retractable tethers and lanyards exclusively for tools, gear, and instruments for nearly two decades. Salentine holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University.

MARK LASHBROOK received a BEng (Hons) degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Loughborough University in 1995. He has worked in a variety of engineering roles in the manufacturing and power industries, and is currently the Senior Applications Engineer for Midel ester fluid products at M&I Materials in the UK.

JESSE SHEARER is a Senior Application Design Engineer at United Equipment Accessories, and a 10-year veteran of the wind-power and slip-ring industries. His main focus has been on hub slip ring technology in large wind turbines. Shearer enjoys camping and spending time with his family, as well as traveling internationally.

DAVID YAÑEZ is an Engineer from Spain and the inventor of the Vortex Bladeless technology. Vortex Bladeless is an intensive R&D company founded by Yañez in 2013. It’s dedicated to the development and marketing of devices that capture kinetic wind energy by vortex shedding, transforming it into other useful forms of power.

2 WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT www.windpowerengineering.com JUNE 2015

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JARROD ORSZULAK, a Product Manager with POSITAL FRABA, coordinates an international team that develops products for customers’ unique needs. His special interest involves extending the use of industrial motion and position sensors into new areas, such as for alternative energy.

JAMES PARLE is the CEO of Muir Data Systems. For the past dozen years, Parle has worked in the fields of aerospace and clean technology. This included aeronautics research for NASA, unmanned aircraft development for AeroVironment, wind-turbine design for the start-up, Joby Energy, and vetting cleantech companies for Greenstart. Muir Data Systems is a software company that combines mobile, web, and analytics to reduce the cost of wind energy. Parle has an MS in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a sustainable MBA from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco.

FRANK MAGNOTTI is the President and CEO of Fluitec. Previously, he was founder of Comverge and president of Clean Energy Solutions Group. Magnotti began his career with Bell Labs, the research and development arm of AT&T, culminating with the founding of AT&T Bell Labs’ Utility Solutions Division in 1991. He holds B.E. and M.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cooper Union School of Engineering.

CRISTIAN SOTO is VP of Product Development and Operations for Fluitec. Cristian has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Physical Chemistry-Surface Science. He was an Oberassistant at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Surface Science Department in Zurich Switzerland, where he led the research on lubricant additives and tribology. He was also Group Leader of Lubricant Development at Nalco Chemical Co. and Senior Research Manager of Materials Technology at Whirlpool.

GREG LIVINGSTONE is Executive VP, Business Development for Fluitec. Linvingstone is a Certified Lubrication Specialist and past-chair of ASTM D02 CO1 on Turbine Oil Analysis and Problem Solving, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineer’s Power Generation and Wind Energy Councils. He has published over 40 papers across a range of industry publications.

NICK RASPER began working for ITH Engineering after college nine years ago. He began in service and over the years, his duties have grown to include sales and marketing.

Contributors 6-15_Vs6.indd 2 6/19/15 4:16 PM

Follow the whole team on twitter @Windpower_Eng

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Staff page_WIND_6-15_Vs3.indd 3 6/19/15 4:27 PM

Editorial: Breaking down WINDPOWER 2015

Wind Watch: Bearing life predictions, bladeless generators, technicians with global certification, correcting for yaw error

Networks: Advanced networking at wind farms

Reliability: A wind-farm focused slip ring

Bolting: Portable battery powered pump

Safety: Tethered tools make for safer up-tower work

xxDrones are in the air

For wind-farm owners, drones or unmanned aerial inspectors, could be as good as a “$10,000 off you next blade inspection” coupon. Carrying 24-megabit pixel cameras or high-def video, inspecting blades is just their first assignment.

The emerging microgrid market

If you’re looking to invest in the energy market, you might want to consider the growing microgrid industry. At least that’s what Tesla Motors, among others, is doing. The maker of the sleek Model S electric car aspires to become a major player in the business of microgrids, and for good reason.

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Friendly fluids make transformers more safe and sustainable

Wind turbine transformers pose a unique set of challenges to the designers and engineers who specify them. The transformers are typically of distribution size and rating, but do a job that differs from a standard distribution unit.

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Materials: New ideas for repairing turbine blades

Fluids & Filters: An end to gearbox oil changes?

Condition Monitoring: The right tablets for technicians can collect more data

Software: Online service lift classes that earn certification

Turbine of the Month: Siemens 2.3-120

Equipment World: torque tools, modular tower, main shaft bearings, carbon brushes, nitrogen service kit

Downwind: Putting turbines up, way up

D E PA R T M E N T S

F E AT U R E S

ON THE COVERA pilot with Advanced Air Inspections flies a drone that will look for damage on wind turbine blades.

I N N O V A T O R S & I N F L U E N C E R S I S S U E P G 5 2 - 5 6


Contents_6-15_Vs3.indd 4 6/19/15 11:35 AM

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GLOBAL WIND ORGANIZATIONGLOBAL WIND ORGANIZATIONSUGGEST IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE CERTIFICATIONSSUGGEST IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE CERTIFICATIONS

ENSA can bring is portable tower to a job site for training. GWO guidelines for first aid, manual handling, fire awareness, and working at height provide a universal approach to the industry’s global presence.

INDEPENDENT SERVICE PROVIDERS, those companies that maintain wind turbines at wind plants around the country, generally work under OSHA and ANSI safety standards. But what of the technicians who travel the world maintaining turbines in a different country every week? They would have to work under dozens of different standards. Expecting a person to meet such a mishmash of work requirements might be difficult to justify. Just as ISO works to harmonize worldwide engineering standards, the Global Wind Organization works to equalize wind tech skills in four key areas: first aid, manual handling, fire awareness, and working at height. A fifth area, sea survival, would be added for those working offshore.

It’s a good idea, but how does one earn GWO certificate? Recently, ENSA North America, a division of Mallory Safety & Supply, was approved by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance to teach GWO training. “Siemens recognizes its importance, enough to offer the training at their facility in Florida. In fact, a wind technician must be GWO certified if he or she wants to work on a Siemens site,” says Becky Danielson, an instructor and market channel administrator for ENSA. She says to expect more OEMs and owners to require GWO approval.

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JUNE 2015 windpowerengineering.com WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 7


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W I N D W A T C H

WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 9

Danielson points out that earning the approval for a technician is no casual commitment. “For instance, the class to qualify for working at height work is 16

hours, the first aid module is another 16 hours, the fire prevention session is four hours, and material handling is four hours more,” she adds.

After the training, if a tech involved in an incident on the job, that person will know how to manage the situation, and then assist and rescue the victim. These are the criterion that will eventually be a standard.

“Earning GWO approval is a significant accomplishment because the wind industry is rapidly shifting toward it. With GWO approval, techs that come from Spain, Denmark, or Chile, are all trained under the same basic criteria” she says. Which makes it much easier to identify “gap training” necessary to work safely under the local regulatory requirements.

GWO guidelines are a universal approach to the industry’s global presence. Like any other standard, third party auditing will help to insure the GWO BST criteria maintains a level of excellence.

To earn GWO approval for its training functions, Danielson said ENSA had to work through time consuming and extensive ISO 9001 certification which also involved significant cost. “Our GWO certification means we can offer particular training modules that have come over from Europe to which we apply our training methods so we are compliant with both Local and Federal regulations and standards,” she said.

“What’s more, receiving the approval says to the industry that we are not just two people in a training program that recently opened shop. We have received our ISO certification, audited, and our facilities and equipment are audited. Although GWO is a leap for the industry, it will provide peace of mind,” adds Danielson. The GWO standard is freely available on the EWEA website (ewea.org) W

Earning GWO approval is a significant accomplishment because the wind industry is rapidly shifting toward it.


1 0 WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT www.windpowerengineering.com JUNE 2015

W I N D W A T C H

Capturing high winds with bladeless turbines

DAVID YAÑEZCo-CEOTechnolgy ManagerVortex Bladeless

IF YOU’VE EVER WATCHED A CAR’S RADIO ANTENNA oscillate from side to side while the car was in motion, you witnessed the effect of vortex shedding effect.

The concept is simple enough: vortex shedding is the oscillating flow that occurs when air (or water) flows past an object. It is based on the velocity of the flow and the size and shape of the object. As the wind bypasses a fixed structure, such as a turbine, its flow changes and generates a cyclical pattern of vortices. If these forces are strong enough, the fixed structure will begin oscillating and may even enter into resonance with the lateral forces of the wind.

In a worst-case scenario, these forces can cause a structure to fatigue and collapse. A classic example of this involved the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Pudget Sound, Washington. This

An artist’s conception is of an offshore wind farm of MW-sized generators. For now, 4-kilowatt bladeless Vortex will be available in about one year. The design is ideal for use as part of a hybrid system that combines solar panels, and for remote off-grid locations. A three-year goal is to present a one-megawatt offshore wind generator.

suspension bridge, nicknamed Galloping Gertie because of its tendency to sway, collapsed months after it was constructed in 1940. Forty mile-per-hour winds created what engineers believe was the vortex shedding at its worst.

Going with the flowResearchers have been trying to find ways to control the wind ever since the first windmill. Studies on vortex shredding and the wake effect caused by turbines at a wind farm (the turbulence produced in the wind that effects downstream turbines similar to the resulting waves behind boats in the water) have provided some insight.

For maximum wind power generation, it’s clear that the aerodynamic properties of a turbine blade are significant. A structural twist of the blade, for example, can enhance performance but is also expensive to manufacture.

Vortex generators have provided one answer. The small fins, usually glued to a blade surface, energizing wind flow and reducing flow separation.

However, instead of separating or reducing wind flow, a new idea in the industry is attempting to use and maximize the effect of vortex shedding. Instead of subduing the effect, as engineers have tried for years, it captures the energy derived from the resulting oscillations.

Unlike a traditional turbine, this device has a fixed mast and a power generator with a lightweight hollow cylinder on top. It has no nacelle or blades, omissions


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Solar PV Solar, thermal

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JUNE 2015 windpowerengineering.com WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 1 1

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One of the main advantages of the bladeless Vortex design is its low cost. The localized cost of energy (LCOE) generation for a typical onshore wind facility is $0.035/kWh, including capital costs, operations and maintenance (O&M), performance, land leases, insurance, and other administrative expenses. This puts the technology at the very low range of capital intensity for such projects. It also makes it highly competitive not only against generations of alternative or renewable energy, but even compared to conventional technologies, as shown in the graph.

Cost advantages of a bladeless wind turbine over other power sources

that reduce wear and eliminate the need for lubrication. Without moving parts, maintenance is less of a concern compared to conventional turbines.

Possibly the most intriguing element of this device is that it works well under high-vortex wind conditions.

With the help of a self-tuning magnetic coupling, the new bladeless turbine can operate in a much wider range of wind speeds. When the wind intensifies, the magnetic force of repulsion increases, reducing the distance between a rod and magnet. As the oscillations intensify so does the generated energy. The technology synchronizes with the incoming wind speed and remains in resonance without mechanical or manual interference.

Cutting costsThe bladeless turbine design eliminates mechanical elements that can suffer wear and tear from friction, leading to an estimated 53% reduction in maintenance costs compared to traditional wind turbines. With the alternator close to ground level and no need for cranes or fall protection systems, assembly operations are also substantially lower. Total manufacturing savings are roughly estimated at 51% of the typical wind turbine production costs.

Early findings show that this new system can capture about 40% of the wind power contained in the surrounding air. The device looses some electrical conversion capacity, reaching approximately 70% of the yield of a conventional alternator.

Like any turbine, it isn’t immune to fatigue issues. Over time, heavy winds can cause twisting and displacement of the structure, primarily in the elastic rod and in the lower section which has to withstand greater forces. Studies confirm that the stresses on the carbon-fiber rod are still far below the recommended working limits of the materials. Computational modeling estimates operational lifetime of the installation to be between 32 and 96 years.

Making sound choicesBladeless turbines also offer environmental advantages. The anticipated impact on bird and bat populations is much smaller because the device doesn’t require the same type or magnitude of movement as traditional turbines, allowing for higher visibility. Several environmental advocacy groups, including the SEO Birdlife Association, actively support this bladeless technology.

Noise levels aren’t an issue either. Concerns about potential health consequences associated with the low-frequency sounds emitted from traditional turbines have created some controversy for wind farms. With the oscillation frequency of this new equipment below 20 Hertz, the impact sound level is close to non-existent, opening the possibility to make the future wind farms completely silent.

Dozens of prototypes in wind tunnels have already been tested to demonstrate the feasibility of this bladeless turbine technology, and the developer is currently optimizing field tests for small-scale, off-grid locations. The initial goal is to design devices for remote locations that are on par with the power-production capabilities of solar panels. The long-term goal is to present a one-megawatt offshore wind generator in the next three years. W

Instead of a traditional tower, nacelle, and blades, the Vortex bladeless technology has a fixed mast, a power generator, and a hollow, semi-rigid fiberglass cylinder on top.


W I N D W A T C H


Gearbox model predicts longer bearing life with controlled torque reversals

Downwind CRB S/N Curve

The two plot shows that lowering peak stresses lengthens the life of a bearing. Furthermore, lowering loads so that WEA does not form lengthens life further. Generally, bearings found with WEA at failure did so earlier than those without evidence of WEA. A conclusion is that WEA significantly reduces bearing rolling contact fatigue life at various stress levels as applied on Sentient Science DigitalClone models in computational testing. Source: Sentient Science

RECENT PERFORMANCE MODELING of wind-turbine-gearbox bearings with field data suggests that taming torque reversals could lengthen a gearbox-bearing life up to two fold. The field data was collected by engineers at AeroTorque and supplied to bearing simulation and prediction firm Sentient Science. The later company has collected data on millions of military aircraft bearings and developed the algorithms, called DigitalClone, for predicting the conditions that promote the longest bearing life.

Bearings seem the weak link in wind turbine gearboxes. Once an axial crack forms in a bearing race, the bearing begins to shed debris into the oil and eventually, gear-teeth-surfaces wear and if the bearing is not replaced, the entire gearbox can need replacing, sometimes a $350,000 job.

All wind turbines are affected by transient drivetrain loads from extreme wind and severe stops triggered by various faults codes. To make matters worse, transient load events have increased as turbines are built larger to produce more power.

Recent thinking has it that torque reversals from sudden stops and wind events, such as gusts and storms, produce rapid torque swings from positive to

negative, and in a manner that essentially hammers bearings as load zones shift from one side of a bearing race to the other. The pounding on hard subsurface occlusions in the bearing material produces the axial crack. “Research and monitoring operating turbines have shown that the torque reversals and impact loads are a leading cause of axial-crack damage and White Etch Area,” said Doug Herr, General Manager at AeroTorque. Axial cracks are often initiated by the phenomena of White Etch Areas.

One solution to the problem may be an Asymmetric Torque Control (ATC), an

Bearing Upwind high-speed Downwind high-speed shaft L50 shaft L50

Unprotected drivetrain with 7.15 years 2.895 yearswhite etch area

Protected drivetrain 10+ years 5.348 years

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How predicted bearing life improves with torque control


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AeroTorque device intended to reduce the magnitude and speed of impact, and reversal loads. It has shown to reduce peak stresses in bearings during reversals by up to 14%. The company has collected significant amounts of field data on torsion reversals during turbine stopping and other events, and say the ATC provides a considerable reduction in drivetrain loading, up to 54% in forward and 74% in reverse, even on turbines with active controls. The question AeroTorque engineers’ asked was: How do you convert that finding to a life factor and better calculate value and ROI?

To calculate the bearing’s life, the two companies decided to evaluate the life

of a 1.5 MW, high-speed bearing under a Class-1 representative duty cycle that included severe real-world conditions. These bearings have experienced high rates of white-etch areas in the field.

AeroTorque provided its data on hard-stop amplitudes and frequencies while Sentient Science studied failed bearing samples and modeled the white-etch like inclusions to generate a representative microstructure model. The company’s modeling approach was chosen because it can accurately calculate bearing life by accounting for wind loading events, material quality and inclusions, material microstructure, surface finish, and lubricant.

The company ran the simulations through its DigitalClone life-prediction tool to assess the effect on high-speed-bearing performance with new duty cycles and with inclusions added.

Results showed that a white etched damaged area reduced bearing L50 life based on rolling contact fatigue by up to 45%. If WEA can be prevented using ATC, bearing L50 life can be extended by up to a factor of two, from 2.89 to 5.39 years. The teams are continuing to further examine the effects of dynamic reverse loads and impact loads, which were not considered in this program. Sentient says its customers control over 40% of the U.S. wind fleet. W

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Windpower_eng_ad_2a.indd 1 10/4/14 7:23 AM


W I N D W A T C H


Alaska-tuned turbines cut heating costs for remote villagers

POSITAL FRABA’s IXARC absolute rotary encoder ensures precise turbine measurements without losing track of its position because of a temporary loss of instrument power.

The Windmatic 17S turbines selected for the project were re-manufactured and designed to work with the Alaskan village’s existing diesel generators and endure the harsh climate.

JARROD ORSZULAK Product ManagerPOSITAL FRABA Inc.

ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTH of Bethel, Alaska, and 50 miles north of the Bering Sea lies Tuntutuliak (locally referred to as Tunt), a tundra village of about 400 Yup'ik Eskimos. Most of the residents here survive off the land through subsistence hunting, fishing, and berry picking. The community is almost entirely surrounded by water.

Remote villages such as this one traditionally rely on diesel generators to produce power for heating and electricity. With the combination of rising diesel prices and high transportation costs, power costs run at about $0.65 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) if not more, making the expense of living quite high in Tunt, and they aren’t the only ones. More than 50 similar villages in the region all struggle with the cost of energy.

A few years ago, Tunt began to defray the high price of diesel by harnessing its extensive wind resources. Five wind turbines were installed in 2012 as part of a consortium with local governments and three other neighboring villages. The Chaninik Wind Group (formed by the Alaskan United Tribal Governments of Kongiganak, Kwigillingok, Tuntutuliak, and Kipnuk) was awarded $750,000 from the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) to implement a multi-village, wind and smart-grid system. The goal was to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 40% in each of the four tribal villages and to implement wind energy to displace 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

The Windmatic 17S turbines selected are 95-kW units manufactured from

scratch and designed to work with the village’s existing diesel generators and endure the harsh Alaskan climate. As if to emphasis the severity of the weather, the barge carrying the rotor blades to the construction site was iced in close Bethel and stranded about 40 miles from Tunt. Undaunted, members of the local utility constructed a large sled pulled by snowmobiles for the last leg of the trip.

The results: electric costs have significantly dropped. The wind energy used for heating is controlled, metered, and provided to tribal members at a 50% discount off their original fuel costs. According to the EERE website, the average homeowner in the village consumes an estimated 766 gallons of heating fuel at more than $6.24/gallon ($4,780). In some circumstances, this is more than 60% of a household budget.

Turbine maintenance also requires some innovation. As you can imagine, weather and geography make it impossible to simply call up a service crew when something goes wrong with a turbine in Tunt.


W I N D W A T C H


To address this concern, several features were incorporated into the turbines to facilitate preventative maintenance. Remote monitoring is essential. Aside from the challenges involved with a last-minute maintenance call, turbine downtime could mean lost of heat in the village or a costly reliance on more diesel power.

Other issues also became apparent during tower construction. Cables engineered to withstand the extreme weather conditions were installed, but cable entanglement proved a concern. Because turbines point into the wind to capture as much power as possible, cables running from the generator down often become wrapped around the tower. This problem is usually resolved easily by rotating the head to unwind the cable, but this is typically a manual job. It’s also a job easy to forget and unlikely to get done during an Alaskan winter.

So, an auto-unwind feature was added to the turbines to avoid downtime and service calls to Tunt. But the design took engineering time and effort to ensure reliability given the climate. Encoders were directly coupled to the head of each turbine. These industrial encoders provide precise angle measurements that adjust to the yaw angle of a turbine. They also track the precise position of each turbines based on a pre-set “home” location. The design

Tracking the precise location of each turbine in Tuntutuliak, Alaska, the encoders send data back to a main control system in Colorado. Here is a screenshot of some of that data.

allows for positional information to continue even if power to the system is momentarily lost.

As a turbine rotates, the auto-unwind feature now tracks the number of twists in the cable. Whenever the cable

meets a pre-set number of turns, the system shuts down the generator for a short period and rotates the twists out of the cable. After repositioning, the generator comes back online and the process starts anew. Each turbine’s current location and each cable’s position are monitored from headquarters in Colorado. An added benefit of using encoders is that the data can serve researchers and governments track patterns in wind and weather for future studies.

Because winds are much stronger during winter months in Tunt, about 30 homes were outfitted with residential electric-thermal storage devices. These units store excess wind power generated in the winter to help heat the homes when needed. Smart-grid technology was also installed in nearly all of the village’s homes to monitor electricity usage. The meters let the local utility access usage data so they can better predict power use, potential repairs, and even which homes could use weatherization.

Between the encoders tracking the wind turbines and the smart meters tracking in-home power use, Tuntutuliak and the neighboring villages are saving enormous costs in power. By using far less diesel fuels, they’re also saving the environment from unnecessary emissions and greenhouse gases. W

Turbine maintenance also requires some innovation. As you can imagine, weather and geography make it impossible to simply call up a service crew when something goes wrong with a turbine.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?Connect and discuss this and other wind issues with thousands of professionals online


W I N D W A T C H


Epsiline’s Yaw Advisor is a turbine mounted, laser-based wind sensor that accurately measure wind direction immediately in front of a wind turbine. Measuring wind direction ahead of the rotor avoids disruptive wind turbulence in the traditional measurement zone behind the blades.

UNTIL NOW, LASER BASED, WIND-MEASURING EQUIPMENT mounted on nacelles has been heavy, expensive, and difficult to install. But doing so provided a more accurate wind speed and direction than that from anemometers mounted downwind on nacelles. France-based Epsiline wants to improve the current equipment with a lidar unit that lighter than existing designs, easy to install, and less expensive. What’s more, says Mireille Focquet, company Business Development Partner for North America, “correcting the frequently encountered yaw error on many

turbines provides an ROI on the equipment in as little as two to three years.” Yaw error is the offset between actual wind direction and where the turbine is pointing.

Yaw Advisor, Epsiline’s 66-lb laser-based wind sensor aims only at measuring the yaw error of wind turbines and correcting the drawbacks of the current lidar wind sensors. Accurate and precise

wind data will let owners and operators update their operation strategies.

Measuring wind speed and direction with lasers is based on the well-known principle of the Doppler Effect: Laser beams are reflected by particles of dust and pollen carried by the wind. A small portion of the reflected light is collected and processed to derive the radial velocity of the particle. This information is used to calculate the wind direction.

The idea is for operators to compare Yaw Advisor data to SCADA records. A difference in readings would be the

misalignment, and can be up to several degrees. “We provide the tools to find the offset,

but do not make the control adjustment. The information will let owners and operators make more informed decisions,” says Focquet. “Research indicates that the magnitude of yaw errors can vary depending on the wind direction and speed. What's more, constructing a wind farm even 10 miles upwind can produce changes at downstream wind farms.”

She says that Yaw Advisor installs easily in about two to three hours on most wind turbines and less than that when the crew is experienced. “It’s meant to be a diagnostic tool installed for two to three weeks and then moved to another turbine, or returned when leased. It does not control the turbine, it only collects data.”

Once wind techs correct the yaw error on a turbine, they can expect to see increased productivity and efficiency, and higher revenues. Lower yaw error also reduces loads on turbine mechanisms and components and so lowers maintenance and repairs costs.

The company says it built the unit in the smallest size possible and rounded the design to minimize the flow distortion. In addition, the unit consumes little power even with the heating element.

Focquet adds that units will be available for sale or lease in 2016, and the price point is set low enough that maintenance companies can provide it in their service offering, or wind farm owners can lease or purchase the device. What's more, the company is working for DNV GL and ISO 9001 certifications by 2016. W

Lidar unit aims to correct yaw errors to boost production

Constructing a wind farm even 10 miles upwind can produce changes at downstream wind farms.


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Wind work around North AmericaWind generation in the U.S. has tripled in the past six years, now exceeding 4.5% of the country’s

total electricity generation or about 65 GW. Wind power has also spread to 39 states and,

according to a new report from the Department of Energy, that number can grow to utility-

scale levels in all 50 states by 2030. Taller turbines and ongoing advancements in wind-power

technology will continue to make wind power cheaper and more accessible, particularly in

untapped regions that have relatively low wind speeds, such as the Southeastern U.S.


Record-setting windsBlattner Energy, a power-generation contractor and provider of renewable energy construction, announced that it has hit an industry record of more than 25,000 MW’s of wind power installed or under contract across North America. This figure accounts for about one-third of all installed wind-power capacity in the U.S. and Canada, and is more than any other contractor. The Blattner Family of companies has built more than 195 wind projects since 2001, including the five single-largest wind farms in the U.S.

A Lone Star milestone for twoOne hundred spinning turbines near the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas, mark a major achievement for Duke Energy and its customer, Austin Energy. With the Los Vientos III Wind-power Project achieving commercial operation in May, Duke now has more than 2,000 MW of renewable power in production and Austin Energy’s portfolio has surpassed the 1,000-MW mark. Austin Energy will also purchase the output of the 200-MW Los Vientos IV wind farm that’s currently under construction, with an expected completion date of 2016.

A partner for the Amazon Siemens has been awarded the order from Pattern Energy Group to supply 65 turbines and provide long-term service for the Amazon Wind Farm, located near Fowler, Indiana. Construction is scheduled to begin in July with power generating during the fourth quarter of 2015. The project will feature Siemens SWT-2.3-108 turbines, each with a power rating of 2.3 MW. The turbines will be supplied from U.S. factories, with the nacelles and hubs assembled at the Siemens facility in Kansas and blades manufactured in Iowa.

Acquiring Armenia ALLETE Clean Energy (ACE) has agreed to acquire 100% of AES Armenia Mountain Wind’s 100.5-MW facility near Troy, Pennsylvania, including a non-controlling interest from a minority shareholder for the existing debt. Located in the busy PJM electricity market near the New York-Pennsylvania border, Armenia Mountain’s 67, 1.5-MW General Electric wind turbines were installed in 2009. All the facility’s energy output is sold through existing power-purchase agreements that extend through 2025. This is the fourth wind facility ACE has acquired from AES and the seventh in its portfolio.

New winds for Canada British Columbia’s BC Hydro is adding clean wind power to the provincial electricity grid, including two new wind farms in the Okanagan, the first ever for the region. The agreements with Zero Emission Energy Developments were signed under BC Hydro’s Standing Offer, a program that provides a streamlined procurement process for small clean-energy projects in the province. The new developments will provide enough electricity to power 14,000 homes annually.

World’s first spiral towerKeystone Tower Systems has completed the manufacture and installation of the industry’s first tapered spiral welded wind turbine tower in Middleton, Massachusetts. The tower was constructed using Keystone’s novel manufacturing process that produces tapered, tubular steel towers with variable wall thickness. The fully automated rolling and welding system produces towers three times faster than conventional methods, using 90% less labor than traditional tower factories. This results in significant cost savings. Keystone also recently won funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a mobile operation for tower fabrication.

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Investing in IowaMidAmerican Energy Company has filed plans with the Iowa Utilities Board for the development of up to 552 MW of new wind generation in Iowa. The company is currently in the process of obtaining necessary permits and easements for the construction of wind farms at two new sites. Pending approval, MidAmerican Energy plans to begin construction in spring 2016 with completion scheduled for the end of that year. The total cost of the project is about $900 million. Since 2004, MidAmerican Energy has invested nearly $5.8 billion building wind projects in Iowa.

Gaining greater megawattsVestas received an order for 200 of their V110-2.0-MW turbines for the Grande Prairie wind farm in Holt County, Nebraska. In megawatt terms, the project represents Vestas’ largest single-phase project ever in the U.S. The order was placed by BHE Renewables, LLC, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which owns a portfolio of projects representing more than 4 GW of wind across the West and Midwest. The announcement marks the first turbine supply contract between BHE Renewables and Vestas. Project completion is expected at the end of 2016.


B r i a n R o t hM a r k e t i n g P r o d u c t E n g i n e e r

A n t a i r a Te c h n o l o g i e s


Making the Connection: Advanced networking at wind farms

The Bureau of Land Management’s latest statistics show wind power topping the charts as the fastest growing energy technology worldwide for just over a decade. These are impressive stats considering the

competition for power generation from natural gas, traditional fossil fuels, and other renewable sources such as solar power. The continued growth of wind energy is also noteworthy given the unstable economy and uncertainty of government support via the PTCs or production tax credits.

The fact that wind power has excelled over the last 10 years is a testament to modern technology. Today technological advancements in turbines are seen in nearly every turbine component including the size of towers. Better equipment has allowed for taller turbines, some reaching heights of well over 100 meters with larger and lighter blades that are better able to access wind streams and generate power.

The diagram of a redundant wind-turbine network illustrates

a serial-to-Ethernet converter, which controls and reports

information from a wind turbine’s PLC (programmable logic

controller) to a central control station. This is done using a

redundant fiber-optic network with industrial managed switches.

Antaira’s LNX-802NS3 is a 6-port 10/100Tx + 2-port

100Fx (single-mode fiber, 30km) SNMP-managed

industrial Ethernet switch with the redundant ring

feature. By using fiber ports, it extends the connection

distance that increases the network elasticity and

performance, making it ideal for wind-power applications.

W I N D F A R M N E T W O R K S

WindFarmNetworks_6-15_Vs2.indd 18 6/18/15 7:52 PM

of North Dakota, the durability of every turbine cable and component are essential to ongoing power production. Should any component require maintenance or repair, the sensitive circuitry in a turbine relies on a stable network for communication, ensuring that information quickly and accurately reaches the control room.

Although wind-farm environments are often extreme, they fit perfectly into the -40 to 75°C temperature range of operating industrial networking equipment including

fiber-optic cables. The technology is also engineered to withstand the constant shock and vibration generated by the turbines, which might otherwise degrade and break solder joints of lower quality electrical production.

Today’s wind towers present unique networking challenges that require a mix of serial, Ethernet, fiber-optic, and wireless communication solutions. The benefits of remote monitoring let wind farm operators save substantial costs in time in site visits while optimizing power production from a distance. Advanced industrial-grade networking technology offers the degree of reliability and protection required to accurately collect data and monitor turbines to ensure a successful wind farm. W

Because most large wind farms are in

remote regions, advanced monitoring

and networking equipment lets

turbine operators make adjustments at

a more centralized location to maximize

power production.

For turbines to develop so successfully in size and scope, advancements have also had to happen at a micro level. Because most large wind farms are in remote locations, the need to accurately control and monitor production from a distance is important and involves near-microscopic cables and wireless communication devices. Advanced monitoring equipment also lets wind operators make adjustments remotely and refine turbine production, which is critical considering the dynamic environment of a wind farm. For instance, wind speeds are rarely the same from hour to hour let alone day to day.

Thanks to modern technology, serial device servers and managed Ethernet switches within a wind tower can collect and provide data from each turbine’s controller, gearbox, and anemometers at a wind farm for oversight at a more centrally located command center. An Ethernet switch is the central hub or network that connects devices to a computer network. The ideal Ethernet networking architecture for use at a remote wind farm is a fiber-optic ring.

More common bus-Ethernet communication systems provide another option, but they only work when wind-turbine communication systems are located in close proximity to each other. Fiber-optic cables have the advantage of creating a quick and reliable communication link over long distances, such as from a central control room to a remote wind farm. They transmit data almost noise-free and can do so at high bandwidths.

Fiber-optic cables use threads of glass that are as thin as a human hair to send data from one source to another. Each individual glass thread within the cable is capable of sending significant amounts of data via light waves. Using managed switches to form a fiber-optic ring architecture provides numerous advantages for a remote wind farm. There are four basic optical networks (including bus, star, ring, and collapsed backbone), but an optimum choice depends on the device’s networking requirements.

A ring topology tends to use less cabling while providing secure data

redundancy. This means that a fiber-optic networking ring continually uses the same data pathway, preventing data loss to and from a wind farm despite the potential of a single link failure. For this reason, fiber-optic technology protects data from getting compromised due to electromagnetic interference generated by the wind turbine.

In addition, optical fiber is easy to handle. The fiber connectors can be terminated correctly in less than a minute and termination doesn’t require isolation or

special tooling, making maintenance and field repairs a fairly simple task. Many wind-turbine-maintenance companies have even begun fiber-optic retrofits on older turbines.

The small size of fiber-optic cable does require expertise and special attention to ensure damage doesn’t occur when cutting cables during installation or wind-farm construction. Industrial-grade networking equipment is, therefore, a must for any wind-farm application. With a minimum of 100,000 hours as the mean time between failures, industrial-grade equipment offers the reliability of an extended lifecycle over commercial equipment.

Because wind farms face a wide variety of environments ranging from the hot deserts of Arizona to the cold plains

W I N D F A R M N E T W O R K S


WindFarmNetworks_6-15_Vs2.indd 19 6/18/15 7:52 PM

J e s s e S h e a re rD e s i g n E n g i n e e r

U n i t e d E q u i p m e n t A c c e s s o r i e s


R E L I A B I L I T Y

Small components with big impactsA few ideas for longer-life slip rings

Inside a slip ring

Source: UEA

Connectionsbetween functionharness & ringLeads

Ring core stack

Optional mountingtube attached torotating unit

Connectionsbetween brushes andsource harness

Source harnessfrom stationarymember

Function harness to rotating member

As the wind energy industry has grown over the last decade, so has turbine slip-ring technology. Although these devices are small, their importance should not be undervalued. Wind turbines require reliable

transmission of power and data signals from the nacelle to the control system for the rotary blades, and this is where slip rings come into play.

These electro-mechanical devices allow transmission of power and signals from a stationary structure to a rotating one and have a direct impact on a turbine’s performance. If a slip ring fails, power and communication data cannot pass through to pitch mechanisms and other controls in the hub and the turbine will shut down. This is why design firms in the industry have been focusing efforts on engineering slip rings specifically

for wind turbines that last longer and require less maintenance.

A slip ring is a rotary coupling used to transfer electric current from a stationary unit to a rotating unit. In a turbine, the electrical connection to the rotor is made by connections to the brushes. This is accomplished by either:

1. Holding the center core stationary while a slip ring’s brushes and housing rotate around it, or

2. Holding the brushes and housing stationary while the center core is allowed to rotate.

Depending on the power requirements, a wide selection of circuitry is available with many combinations of amperage and voltage (ac or dc). A compact slip-ring design is made possible by stacking the brushes on alternating sides. These brushes work under tough turbine conditions and are occasionally damaged. Traditionally, when a brush is damaged on a wire-brush slip ring, the whole block needs replacing.

Fiber-brush technology has allowed for extended life slip-ring designs with the caveat of limited higher power current. Power surges tend to damage the fiber brushes. That doesn’t happen with robust, solid metal brushes.

When a solid-brush slip ring is damaged, only that individual brush needs replacing rather than the whole block. This saves significant maintenance time and related expenses.

Reliability 6-15_Vs3.indd 20 6/18/15 7:56 PM

R E L I A B I L I T Y

Eliminating full brush-block replacement is one way advanced slip-ring technology is contributing to reduced wind turbine maintenance and downtime. Another way is by substantially reducing operations and maintenance (O&M) costs.

Traditional slip rings need frequent maintenance to avoid degradation of the rotating electrical connection caused by regular wear and debris. Manual cleaning and lubrication are essentially eliminated with fiber-brush slip rings.

A higher spring pressure than that on conventional slip rings also helps clean the ring as it rotates. Advanced designs also come with built-in, lifelong lubrication. As a result, these slip rings require about five minutes of maintenance per year, and some turbine owners have eliminated annual maintenance altogether.

Material considerations are also important for reducing O&M. In a hostile environment, such as that common to

remote wind turbine locations, high-grade slip ring materials are important to reduce surface degradation. Most wire-brush slip rings wear down their gold plating, resulting in lost conductivity and transfer capacity.

Although the use of plating is still common in the industry, quality slip rings use solid coin rings in high–revolution applications. Only solid materials are employed ensuring that resistance and conductivity remain constant throughout the life of the ring. In addition, the use of solid silver rings rather than wearable plating also helps maintain communication circuit efficiency and reliability.

Even though slip rings are small in size, they can make or break the performance of a wind turbine. When selecting this important device, consider the quality of the materials used, the annual maintenance required, and the overall life expectancy. W

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Connect and discuss this and other wind issues with thousands

of professionals online

A slip ring from UEA is designed for duty in wind turbines and uses solid brushes and rings stacked in a manner that saves space. The company has built more than 15,000 slip rings for large wind turbines in the last few years.

UEA’s slip rings are engineered to last the entire 20-year life of a wind turbine, providing for 100 to 200 million

revolutions before requiring a brush replacement.


Reliability 6-15_Vs3.indd 21 6/18/15 7:56 PM

N i c k R a s p e rS e r v i c e Te c h n i c i a n

I T H

B O L T I N G


Lightweight pump ready for bolt checking at remote locations

The battery-powered MicroMax from ITH weighs only 33 lb with oil making it useful at sites off the grid, those without power, and in tight working confines.

Every once in a while, the bolts that hold a wind turbine and tower together must be checked for tightness.

Vibration and tower swaying has a way of loosening the occasional one

or two nuts. But rather than lug a 100-lb hydraulic pump around a wind farm, which may or may not have power readily available, a better idea might be a battery-powered hydraulic pump that weighs only 14.8 kg (33 lb) with oil, yet is still capable of generating up to 1,500 bar.

The battery-powered unit, called MicroMax, can tighten and loosen bolts at sites off the power grid, such as wind farms under construction, in offshore job sites, and at jobs where space is limited, such as turbine nacelles.

The design from ITH measures about 340-mm long, 250-mm wide, and 450-mm tall and has an optional backpack transporter, a durable carrying system, for easier transport to remote locations.

The 28V lithium-ion battery, rated for 3 Ah, is enough to check a few dozen bolts. That number really depends on how much pressure the pump must generate to get the force required, which also depends on the tool being used. Swapping out a drained 2-lb battery for a charged one lets work begin again. The state of charge is indicated by four LEDs on the battery.

The unit works just like a conventional 120V plug-in pump. Hoses are standard as are the working tools.

A large 3-in diameter pressure gage is easy to read, and the reservoir holds 3 liters total of which 1.5 liters is usable oil. The unit comes with an extra battery and charger. Other models in the series run on 90 to 110V and are available with remote control and manual shutoff valves. W

28V lithium battery

Pressure gage

Pump motor

Pressure adjusting

valve

3-liter oil reservoir

Hose connectors, out and in

A closer look at the MicroMax

A custom backpack, one accessory, makes for easier transport to remote sites.

Bolting_6-15_vs4.indd 22 6/18/15 8:08 PM

J o h n S a l e n t i n eV i c e P r e s i d e n t H a m m e r h e a d I n d u s t r i e s

S A F E T Y

Tool tethering for safer up-tower maintenance and repairs

Wind turbine blades require year-round monitoring, maintenance, and repairs to ensure maximum production and efficiency. As of

2014, there were an estimated 700,000 blades in operation globally with an average of 3,800 incidents of annual blade failure, according to a report released from renewable energy insurance specialists, GCube Underwriting. With a failure rate of 1:184, the company noted that this figure is increasing as wind developers reach more remote locations in the developing world.

Keeping blades in good condition is vital to a turbine’s ability to generate power and revenue, and this responsibility lies heavy on the shoulders of maintenance and repair engineers. If not maintained, damaged blades can significantly cost a wind-farm owner and pose a serious threat to nearby people, wildlife, and property.

Working at heights also poses its own risks to wind personnel, however, and saftey should rank as a top priority for companies in the industry.

Falls are among the most common causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths, and there are some basic safety standards that must be adhered to (learn more at www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection).

Similar regulations for tethering or tools at heights, commonly used in the wind industry, are sorely lacking from these standards. Developing a company standard and a safety program is, therefore, essential to help minimize risks to workers, onsite personnel, and the environment.

Setting a standard Unlike most engineering tasks where there are protocols to guide workers and proven methods to follow, tool tethering is a fairly new expectation. Currently, there aren’t any national regulations or checklists from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Although OSHA recently revised their amendment for personal protective equipment

(FAR LEFT) For easy tool interchangeability, Q/C tool attachment connectors permit a secure and fast connection and disconnection with just one lanyard.

(LEFT) Proper tool tethers are a must for safe turbine work at heights.


Safety_6-15_Vs6.indd 23 6/19/15 10:31 AM

S A F E T Y


Personal tethers are designed for tools up to 10 lbs and attach directly to a worker.

Retractable tethers are an ideal choice to secure tools and avoiding potential entanglement issues with other landyards.

Wrist lanyards help secure lightweight tools.

(PPE) for employers that operate or maintain electric power generation, it hasn’t done so for tools or tethering for workers at heights.

For this reason, wind energy companies with personnel that routinely work at heights should develop an internal safety and fall protection program. A personalized “tools at heights” program, for instance, could ensure safety concerns are met and that the ergonomics of tethering are addressed. Providing personnel ongoing tips and training can help with worker compliance, which is sometimes an issue. It’s also important to ensure employees have access to the right tools and properly fitted gear.

Size mattersMany equipment companies offering personal fall-arrest systems carry a basic tether with two or three sizes in stock. More often than not, these tethers are inappropriate for work at heights on a wind turbine’s blade. Tethering devices that limit mobility, recoil too quickly, or require too much resistance upon extension, for example, may result in injury.

Instead look for manufacturers specializing in equipment for the wind industry. Engineered tethering systems should be ergonomically sound and come with built-in safety margins

that are rated by tool weight and application. Some manufacturers even offer assistance with safety programs, helping engineers develop the right program and training for their company to ensure employee compliance.

Successful tetheringOrdering the right tools for the job is often a time-consuming and overwhelming process, never mind deciding on additional tool tethers for safety. The key is to start off small. For example, first categorize the tools for use at a jobsite and consider those that have a high “drop” potential, meaning they drop easily or commonly when at heights. Some of the most commonly

dropped tools are the basics, such as hard hats, tape measures, and cell phones.

Next, weigh the tools and classify whether they can attach to a person or must anchor to a structure. Once the tools are categorized, then select the appropriate tethers. Some tools must be tethered for safety. It depends on

the working environment, equipment, and related safety concerns, so tethering options will

vary per project. The more common

tool tethering options are as follows:

• Wrist lanyards: For tools up to 2 lbs to help avoid tool entanglement

or short drop-length issues. • Retractable tethers: For tools up to 2 lbs to help avoid tool entanglement issues when multiple retractable lanyards are in use.

Safety_6-15_Vs4.indd 24 6/18/15 8:13 PM

S A F E T YS A F E T Y

• Personal tethers: For tools up to 10 lbs to remain attached to a person. • Anchored tethers: For tools over 10 lbs to remain attached to a structure.

A successful tethering solution is one that offers protection against dropped or left-behind tools without hindering employee productivity or motivation.

Here are some issues to consider when compiling a “tools at heights” safety program:• Entanglement. It’s important to avoid loose or dangling tethers when moving machinery, working in close quarters, or when climbing and repelling. Consider using retractable tethers whenever possible. They keep tools close to the body when stored while still allowing complete accessibility when in use. • Capability. When deciding on the tools and the tethertouse,firstcalculatehowmuchweightcan safely attach to a person or a structure. This is important because the tool weight, the drop length of the tether, and the dynamic loads on a worker, their fall protection apparatus, or the anchor point can vary per person and per project, seriously impacting safety measures.• Specifications. Safe tool tethering is not a one-size- fits-allsolution—acommonmistakemadebymany companies. A “tools at heights” program isn’t successfully developed by calling a local distributor andorderingtetherswithoutfirstdefiningthe specifications,andthesevaryperjobsite.

A good safety program requires dedication and proper implementation, including ongoing training and compliance checks. It also includes the right equipment. The outcome, however, is well worth a company’s time and resources.

To ensure wind turbine blades keep turning and successfullygeneratingpower,it’sbesttofirststartwithensuring proper protection for those workers willing to risk safety for a job well done at heights. W


Anchored tethers are designed for tools up to 10 lbs and attach to a structure.

A GUIDE TO SAFE TETHERS

Not all tool tethers are created equal. There aren’t any national standards or requirements on how companies manufacture, test, or rate their tethers or lanyards for work at heights or on wind turbines. Therefore, careful research is required for proper selection, and the right tether will vary per worker and per worksite. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

• First determine whether the tethers being considered for a job have been load tested for a maximum weight rating beyond the rated breaking point to absorb any drop-shock. “Shock absorbing” tool tethers are questionable for ensuring safety because of the wide range of different tool weights used for a lanyard. For example, carabiners should have a load-bearing rate of 500 kg or more with gates that don’t get hung up from a side load.

• Look for tool tethers that have a short retracted length combined with a long, low-force extension. Greater stretch and lower resistance equates to less fatigue. Consider tethers with integrated elastic woven into the webbing for a gentle recoil and minimum resistance. Bungee cord elastic reduces stretch, for instance, and typically causes arm strain when in use. • Pay special attention to the tool attachment cord, which is typically the failure point of inferior tethers. The lanyard cord should have a tight weave so there’s less chance of wear or snagging. This should also make it easier to thread through a tool’s lanyard loop.

• Check to see if there are any manufacturing controls and/or traceable serial numbers to track the tethers back to their source as a means of ensuring quality and performance.

• Consider the cost. In the wind industry, often you get what you pay for and in this case more expensive tethers tend to reflect better performance and ergonomics.

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L o u i s C . D o r w o r t hD i v i s i o n M a n a g e r- D i r e c t S e r v i c e s

A b a r i s Tr a i n i n g R e s o u r c e s , I n c .


M A T E R I A L S

A new approach to blade repairs

As wind farms age and new turbines grow in height and blade size, the demand for maintenance and repair services is increasing at a rapid rate. Because of this, many new

companies have emerged in recent years to meet the demands of wind-farm owners and OEM’s looking for composite blade repairs. The technicians from these companies offer up a mixed bag of restoration skills, mostly gained through on-the-job training and experience in the field.

Treatment options for damaged blades often vary depending on the blade’s brand, geographic location, and ultimate repair needs. Blade erosion is a common side effect of the harsh weather conditions most turbines face over time. Repairs for erosion are considered cosmetic and are often completed

externally on the blade at the wind farm by using leading-edge tape or a urethane or epoxy filler paste. Pastes are simply faired along the leading edge to a suitable aerodynamic surface. A decent auto-body repair technician with rope skills can usually fix this type of problem.

More challenging repairs involve impacts to the structural or aerodynamically critical areas on the blade. This type of damage has a number of causes, ranging from bullet holes (moving turbine blades have served as target practice on more than one occasion) to full-blown lightning strikes that require entire tip replacements or more. A much higher level of skill is required for proper assessment and mending of the load-bearing composite structures.

To successfully repair a structural composite,

A technician applies resin to a damaged blade.

After the damaged area is removed from a turbine blade, bulk layers of materials are replaced with unidirectional layers at a specified overlap distance that corresponds to a tapered scarf angle.

The blade repair is nearly complete. Note how flush the repair is to the original surface. All that’s left to do is fill and fair around the repair and apply gel coat or paint.

Materials 6-15_Vs3.indd 26 6/19/15 5:04 PM

M A T E R I A L S

a technician must fully understand the materials used in the construction of a blade. Bulk glass fabrics, such as bi- or tri-axial stitched materials and select unidirectional forms, are often used to sandwich either end-grain balsa or foam core in the construction of a blade’s skin. These multi-axial plies contain independent layers of unidirectional forms stitched together on different axes to achieve a thicker bulk form that’s more conducive to rapid manufacturing.

An increasingly common dilemma that arises during structural blade repairs is whether or not to use multi-axial bulk fabrics as repair plies. The traditional approach involves removal of the damaged laminate and core, and step-sanding around this area by grinding down through the laminate to each layer of bulk fabric (separating span-wise uni-layers, if applicable). Technicians blend the steps afterwards into a tapered scarf angle.

This process is followed by a core fill or replacement, along with the replacement of each bulk layer with a bulk layer (and each uni with a uni-layer). This process must include a specified overlap distance that corresponds to the tapered scarf arrangement. The resulting patch is, unfortunately, quite unattractive and structurally inefficient. In fact, step-sanding or grinding down through the layers until a different material appears can unwittingly cause damage to those underlying layers.

A more recent approach is gentler on the blades. Instead of first step-sanding or grinding the layers, this process taper-sands or “feathers” all of the layers to the appropriate scarf-angle distance from the edge of the removed damage. This exposes each axial element within the laminate to a suitable overlap distance (chord-wise and span-wise) without as much risk to the underlying layers in the structure.

Each unidirectional element of every bulk layer is then repaired with the equivalent weight of uni-materials, matching each to the original orientation


During an advanced composite training class, students learn the latest methods for repairing damaged wind-turbine blades.

found in the blade structure. This method ensures each independent fiber layer regains its original axial-load direction within the repair layup. For example, each tri-axial layer consisting of 0/+45/-45 layers stitched together would be repaired with three independent unidirectional layers oriented at 0/+45/-45 angles to match the original structure.

Although this repair approach requires more individual layers, the layers are lighter and less prone to peeling off of a blade’s vertical surface during a wet layup repair. The edge of each uni-ply is quite thin compared to the thicker bulk plies that are commonly used in the traditional ply replacement approach, resulting in a more aerodynamically flush blade surface and a more structurally efficient blade.

As technology improves and the number of turbine blade repairs increase,

this and other more structurally sound repair methods will likely become standard practice within industry. After all, it takes nearly the same amount of time to perform a good repair as it does a poor repair, and quality counts when it comes to turbine blade performance and production. W

WHAT DO YOU THINK?



Materials 6-15_Vs3.indd 27 6/19/15 5:04 PM

F r a n k M a g n o t t i F l u i t e c


Not long ago, wind turbine maintenance was not considered an up-tower activity. Nacelles and their internal components were not designed for easy access or repair. They

required excessive maintenance costs such as crane rentals. Fortunately, new nacelles are designed to be more up-tower friendly with lower operations and maintenance costs. These design refinements reflect the introduction of Breeze 320 from Fluitec, a lubricant condition monitoring company. This oil is designed to be maintained during regularly scheduled maintenance activities. It provides like-new performance for the life of a wind turbine.

Enemies of gear oil failureThree factors contribute to wind turbine gear oil failure:

1. Oxidation due to thermal stress2. Sludge formation3. Additive depletion

By addressing each failure mode, it is possible to make wind turbine gear oil last three to four times longer than traditional formulations. Similar approaches

Working to make gearbox oil changes obsolete

Extensive testing has shown Breeze 320 is compatible with all major PAO wind turbine gear oils. This is important because up to 10% of existing oil may remain in systems after oil change.

F L U I D S A N D F I L T E R S

G re g L i v i n g s t o n eF l u i t e c

C r i s t i a n S o t oF l u i t e c

Breeze 320 is now operating in harsh northern offshore environments. Oil changes are logistically and environmentally challenging, not to mention costly.

Breeze | 320 mixed with WTGO 1

Appearance after 6-weeks of storage Source: Fluitec

10:90 50:50 90:10

have succeeded in high-reliability environments such as nuclear power plants. Here’s what each does.

Oxidation, not long ago, was a predominant mode of failure for wind turbine gear oils. Hydrocarbons are much more prone to thermal stress than synthetic oils. With the widespread adoption of synthetic gear oils, it is much less common to see oxidation as the dominant failure mode.

Sludge formation is common in wind turbine gear oils after the fluid is aged and the additives deplete. Sludge can impair flow to critical areas of the system, thereby increasing operating temperatures and wear rates. In the case of planetary gear systems, sludge can cause bearing failures.

Additive depletion. The extreme pressure and anti-wear additives used in gear oils are sacrificial in nature. They deplete over time and cause the fluid to fail. As the additive protection in the gear oil depletes, so does the fluid’s ability to resist against micro-pitting and to carry high loads. It is therefore no surprise that operating a gear oil too long with depleted additive systems will cause gearbox failures. Fluitec has confirmed the relationship between additive depletion and gearbox

Filters-and-Fluids_6-15_Vs6.indd 28 6/19/15 11:52 AM

F L U I D S A N D F I L T E R S


failure through a data analytics exercise. By analyzing approximately 35,000 turbine-years of in-service gear oil analysis with gearbox failures, a correlation is observed between the degree of extreme pressure, additive depletion, and gearbox failures.

An alternative to oil changesTo combat oxidation, sludge formation, and additive depletion, Breeze 320 uses a synthetic base oil with excellent oxidative resistance, ensuring that under normal operation conditions, thermal stress will not limit the life of the fluid.

The new oil also has high deposit control characteristics that prevent sludge formation. This is accomplished through an advanced additive system that can provide the necessary performance at a fraction of the treat rate compared to some competitive formulations. In addition, the base stock has greater solubility compared to a poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) formulation allowing the oil to “hold on” to depleted additives rather than causing sludge.

And to address the third challenge and ensure that additive depletion is not a failure point in the new oil, an additive concentrate has been developed that allows for up-tower fluid fortification. Each

Fill-for-life techniques have been proven in many industrial applications-even in the ultra-high reliability and conservative nuclear industry.

Visually separating data by gearbox OEM reveals interesting information.

Predicted iron/Actual iron

Act

ual I

ron

Merging energy production big data with predictive oil analysis

Benchmark of “good” turbine

OEM 1 has a wider distribution of data points

that fall outside of the prediction model, suggesting problems, even though levels

of iron are lower.

Predicted Iron

year, an average of 3% of the gear oil reservoir volume is topped off to restore fluid volume to its recommended capacity. Instead of topping off with normal gear oil, users of Breeze 320 top off with an additive concentrate called Boost WT that maintains optimum additive levels.

Operating with a fill-for-life gear oil clearly provides benefits for wind farm operators. The oil offers significant reduction in O&M costs and environmental risk while providing a next-generation formulation that delivers superior gear and bearing protection. The formulation is also compatible with PAO-based formulations on the market. Fluid compatibility is not an issue when upgrading to Breeze 320.

What’s more, the oil is approved for testing by three major gearbox OEMs and currently provides excellent field performance in up-tower maintenance operations. The three most common failure points of wind turbine gear oils are addressed with Breeze 320’s formulation. This synthetic oil provides superior oxidation protection, excellent deposit control, and the additive chemistry formulation can be refortified up-tower for maintenance of optimum additive levels.

About 35,000 turbine-years of oil and operational data have been analyzed to determine trends and predictions that are not found in standard oil analysis.

Fill-for-life gear oil benefitsGear oil changes may cost $6,000 or more for an average wind turbine. And it is no surprise that offshore wind turbine oil changes are considerably higher. Eliminating three or four oil changes throughout the life of the wind turbine creates significant savings. Other benefits come from operating with the same gear oil throughout a turbine’s life, such as:

• Continually operating with optimum additive levels. This provides enhanced component protection.

• Oil is like a computer hard-drive in that it stores detailed information on the health of the equipment, contaminant ingression, and condition of the oil. Oil analysis is the tool used to extract this information from the fluid to use in a predictive-maintenance program. Each time the oil is changed, the memory of the “hard-drive” is also wiped clean. There’s significant benefit in being able to contain this critical information to enable better trend analysis and adding to a stronger predictive maintenance program. Standard analysis can fail to reveal correlations to operational failures. Fluitec’s triboanalytics preserve desirable data. And lastly,

• Eliminating oil changes is a more environmentally sustainable practice because each wind farm reduces its waste streams and disposal costs.Transferring oil in and out of the nacelle also has environmental risk, especially if the transfer occurs over water.

Breeze 320 is an important step toward making the wind turbine gearbox oil change a thing-of-the-past, great news for wind farms. W

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J a m e s P a r l eP r e s i d e n t

M u i r D a t a S y s t e m s


C O N D I T I O N M O N I T O R I N G

Ever been seated at a restaurant by a waiter who had a tablet in hand? Many facilities are starting to use industry-specific software to more efficiently

run their daily operations. The restaurant benefits from increased efficiency and it can analyze the data to improve its process and increase revenue. These benefits are making purpose-built software systems ubiquitous in a variety of businesses, including the wind industry.

So why are wind farms not managed with the same efficiency? Given the high cost of wind turbines, improved process, and data availability should have greater value to wind industry decision makers than restaurant owners. If the restaurant industry can do it, so can the wind industry.

One program for doing just that comes from Muir Data Systems (MDS). It builds software that reduces the cost of wind energy.

The Sequoia Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is software used by Independent Service Providers (ISPs) in the wind industry to streamline their field-data gathering, data review, report generation, and the report delivery process. The system saves about an hour per report when compared to the traditional paper, pencil, digital camera, and Microsoft Word approach. In addition to automated report generation, there are a host of benefits such as increased field data accuracy, improved control of the inspection and repair process, and a higher level of accountability. MDS can provide this capability to ISPs and asset owners alike.

Sequoia is tailored to field-based applications where internet connectivity is not always available. The web-based system at the office is integrated with a tablet application for data entry in the field.

Digital work orders are the future of wind maintenance management

A wind technician takes pictures of blade damage with a Sequoia CMMS Tablet Application. Pictures and comments will be in a report in the owners hands soon after the technician gets down tower. Photo: Performance Composites

Condition Monitoring 6-15_Vs4.indd 30 6/19/15 11:55 AM

C O N D I T I O N M O N I T O R I N G


When a wireless data signal, such as 4G, is available, the system provides real-time data movement back to office administrators. When no 4G connection is available, the system stores data on the tablet’s memory or SD card and transfers it once it detects an internet connection.

Wind operations and maintenance providers should not have to be IT specialists. MDS makes using its software easy by providing Sequoia through a Software-as-a-Service licensing model. All upkeep is handled by MDS and users login into the website and mobile application in a similar fashion to using web and mobile email software. MDS customers only pay for software that they are actually using. ISPs are charged on a per report basis, while owners are charged per turbine.

One challenge in digitizing maintenance records is that the source of the data is a human technician. Unlike a SCADA sensor that outputs the same readings given similar circumstances, human technicians are in a rush, don’t enjoy paperwork, and have difficulty standardizing the subjective aspects of their field efforts. Efficiently and accurately documenting field work is at the crux of routinely using digital work-order data for analytical purposes, including complementing SCADA and condition-monitoring system (CMS) sensor data.

Given the technological change on the horizon, one key differentiator will be how well a company’s employees can use these systems to get work done. A few questions the new systems prompt include:

• How fast can a new hire train to use the system?

• How quickly can technicians accurately document field work?

• How easily resolved are non-standard situations?

• Do technicians and managers have ready access to historical asset data?

• Are human resources managed at the highest level of efficiency?

• Do other company systems, such as inventory, procurement, ERP, and reporting, have access to data collected in the field?

Work-order systems of this nature seem foreign in the wind industry, but in an increasingly data-driven world, it is inevitable that these tools become standard issue.

A technician with mobile devices and an ever-connected data link will become as common as a hard hat and a haul bag of tools. The best software will integrate into the organization’s workflow with minimal switching costs and increased revenue.

The data collection system from CMMS helps solve human-machine interface issues in a way that makes documenting field work as painless as possible. Properly chronicling the field process is tedious when the long-term benefits of the data are hard to actualize. Purpose-built software systems can resolve the problem two ways. First by defining and controlling the data in-take process, and second, by reducing the amount of time required to properly document field work. MDS aims to provide a system tailored to the wind industry that makes predictive maintenance the new standard, increases revenue for its customers, and helps reduce the total cost of wind energy. W

This screen shot is an example of how the application guides wind technicians. The Sequoia CMMS defines how many pictures should be taken at each step, the orientation of the photos, step specific instructions, time stamping, and the option for exceptions (red box) to address deviations in the standard inspection-repair process.

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Serious online safety training that counts

At the recent WINDPOWER 2015 Conference in Orlando, a message of urgency came from the safety community in getting wind techs certified for

particular tasks. It is no surprise that wind-turbine maintenance involves hundreds of tasks with

more coming as wind-turbine OEMs add to their equipment portfolio. What’s more, safety rules are changing as the industry changes – rules are getting more numerous and strict.

Service-lift manufacturer Avanti acknowledges the changing landscape and provides five (so far) online safety courses.

To sample the learning software, Avanti (avanti-training.com) let me take a couple courses. I “enrolled” and sampled the first one, Operation of Avanti service lift model Dolphin of which there are four sections: Components, Daily inspection, Operation, and In the event of a breakdown.

I worked through the Components and Daily inspection sections. Components gives a tour of the all parts of the service lift. Each component is highlighted along a few lines of information regarding its function and where it is located on the lift. This section consisted of 22 frames or presentations so there is a fair amount to remember. It took less than an hour to get through. At completion, there is the test.

P a u l D v o r a k Editor

Windpower Engineering & Developmentwww.windpowerengineering.com

S O F T W A R E


Start the course

Operation of AvantiService Lift Model L/XLSWP

StatusNot started

Start the course

StatusNot started

Operation of Avanti Service Lift Model Shark US

Start kursetStart the course

Operation of Avanti Service Lift Model Shark CE

StatusNot started

Start the course

Avanti Safety Anchor

StatusNot started

Start the course

Operation of AvantiService Lift ModelDolphin

StatusNot completed

1 / 5 Completed

(LEFT) The image captures the detail students will encounter throughout the several courses. Who is the guy in the beard? Why, that’s you. (BELOW) Paying customers can take up to five Avanti courses for its service lifts.

Software_6-15_Vs7.indd 32 6/19/15 5:18 PM

Entertaining animations help keep student interest. For instance, from frame 12 to 13, the student’s view flies from the top of the tower (examining the suspension beam) to below the base floor. It’s quite a visual trip. But pay attention. I would have liked to step back and see the animation and other frames again but did not find that function.

The Daily inspection before first operation is more engaging. The first instruction was to open the fence, an action you do not see until clicking on the fence handle. After doing so, the fence slides open and the next instruction presents itself: Check the date of the last inspection. This also requires action of clicking of the inspection record. When the instruction says to check the guide wire for tightness, you must pick on the guide wire, after which a gloved hand reaches out (as if it is yours) and shakes the cable.

Daily inspection also provides a little more interactivity than did the Components section. For instance, after a couple of checks, the software provides multiple choice quizzes. If you err, say by picking on something other than what was instructed, the software presents a large and embarrassing red X and the cold message: You have made a mistake.

This section also present students with knowledge tests in which they must answer questions regarding the information just received. Questions are not evaluated, however, but if you are not yet able to answer them, it might be a good idea to retake the module before taking the final test.

Good news, I passed the Introduction to the program, but the Components section, not so good. A question on wire diameter tripped me up.

The lessons are not easily breezed through. The detail and pace call for reading and sometime rereading the instructions because of the amount of detail. As an editor, I’ll quibble with some of the wording, but the detail and quality are what you might expect from a tradition class. Unfortunately, the courses are not free, but that adds to seriousness of the instruction. W

S O F T W A R E


(RIGHT) Getting to know all parts of the lift takes students

from the top to the bottom of the tower. Pay attention. Identifying

these parts will be on the quiz.

(BELOW) Click on the hoist and safety wire to continue. Students are engaged with commands such as this one.

(BELOW) An advanced session demonstrates the correct way to transfer from lift to ladder. If a student does not follow correct procedures during a quiz, their avatar will fall, and you see it.

Software_6-15_Vs6.indd 33 6/19/15 2:04 PM

Siemens 2.3-120

T U R B I N E O F T H E M O N T H


AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan and Board Chair Mike Garland have set high goals for the wind industry. Garland, for instance, suggested working to

create 140,000 MW of new wind power over the next 15 years. And lest you think the U.S. is nearing saturation, Oklahoma renewable-energy spokesperson Kylah McNabb suggested her state still has room for about 1,500 more turbines.

Almost in response to these remarks, Siemens, at the recent Windpower 2015 show, announced the launch of its model SWT-2.3-120, a 2.3-MW turbine with a 120-m rotor diameter. “Wind turbine development has a short-technology cycle, and we are constantly focusing on new development to keep lowering the life cycle costs,” said Mike McManus, Business Development and Strategy for Siemens Wind Power, Onshore Americas.

While the best U.S. winds are in the Great Plains, many other locations have harvest-ready sources as well, and the new Siemens unit is aimed at both of these medium and low wind resources. The new turbine is based on the previous G2 (geared platform) model with a conventional drivetrain layout while sporting significant improvements.

For instance, the larger rotor sweeps through 23% more area than the previous model for about 10% more Annual Energy Production. The blades are designed for an aero acoustic reduction and have a 106 dB A rating. Siemens said the blade is unique in that its design couples its bending and twisting capability to unload the blade during wind gusts which reduces the blade fatigue loads.

The gearbox is a version used in the company’s 3 MW turbines but sized for 2.3 MW. The company says it sports two planetary sections and one helical section.

IEC Class IIB and IIIA

Rotor diameter 120 m

Blade length 59 m

Swept area 11,300 m³

Hub heights 80 or 92.4 m for 500 ft. tip height

AEP at 7.5 m/s 10,400 MWh

Nacelle weight 88 tons

Rotor weight 70 tons

Max elevation 2,000 m

Max temperature 40°C

The Siemens 2.3-120 By the Numbers

P a u l D v o r a k Editor

Windpower Engineering & Developmentwww.windpowerengineering.com

TOTM_6-15_Vs3.indd 34 6/19/15 12:35 PM

T U R B I N E O F T H E M O N T H


The company’s Netconverter, mounted at the base of the turbine, provides full power conversion with significant features. “Most competitors have a partial conversion system, but this one can control active and reactive power separately so it can put more reactive power into the grid when necessary. That is useful for wind farms far away from load centers because some grids will pay for that,” said McMannus. W

And talk about all American. “The nacelles and hubs will be assembled at our facility in Hutchinson, Kansas; the blades were designed at our aerodynamic R&D center in Boulder, Colorado and will be manufactured at our blade factor in Fort Madison, Iowa; and our national network of wind service technicians is ready to keep these turbines running optimally throughout their entire lifecycle,” said Jacob Andersen, CEO, Siemens Wind Power, Onshore Americas

“We have chosen to go astray from the cylindrical to a more rectangular nacelle design and give technicians more access around the drive train. Also, we have an open filtered airflow through the nacelle that extends the standard operation range,” said McMannus. The company also has packages for cold and hot weather to further extend the operating range.

On the electrical side, the synchronous induction generator has no slip rings, and that trims maintenance tasks. Eight high-capacity yaw motors keep the turbine pointed in the right direction.

Square steel canopy for enhanced protection of internals

Efficient electric drive yaw motors

Gearbox with two planetary

stages and one helical

for increased capacity

Larger hatches for

easier access and service of the generator and gearbox

Fully enclose asynchronous

generator with a simple squirrel

cage without slip rings

Additional service space

for easier access to main components

WHAT DO YOU THINK?Connect and discuss this and other wind issues with thousands of professionals online

TOTM_6-15_Vs3.indd 35 6/19/15 12:35 PM

Paul Dvorak • Editor


For wind-farm owners, drones or unmanned aerial inspectors,

could be as good as a “$10,000 off you next blade inspection”

coupon. Carrying 24-megabit pixel cameras or high-def video,

inspecting blades is just their first assignment.

Quadcopters and similar remote-controlled air vehicles have been available for years. YouTube is full of hobbyists flying quad-copters with GoPros showing the world what

their neighborhood looks like. Entrepreneurs immediately saw the potential: inspect wind-turbine blades and other not-easy-to-inspect facilities using high-resolution cameras mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs. Of course, the whole point of doing so is to inspect more blades in a shorter period and chip away at wind-farm operating expenditures.

Until recently, a reliable blade inspection was done by a wind tech hanging from a rope, and he might take six hours

to inspect one turbine. An alternative might have been to use a crane or man bucket. But both options are expensive. And ground-based cameras need wind to manipulate the turbine rotor for a best shot. Even a telescope on the ground does not yield good imagery.

The basics and then someDrones, for our purposes, are really UAVs capable of carrying high-resolution images and video, and soon sensors that might spot a range of problems in wind-turbine blades.

A wind technician with his new robot buddy will perform the inspection job, all three blades with guidance, in about 90 minutes, say technicians with WindSpect,

Feat Drones_6-15_Vs6.indd 36 6/19/15 5:25 PM


Original image courtesy of istockphoto.comPhoto Illustration: Matt Claney


DRONES ARE IN THE AIR


one company flying drones. At the end of a flight, the technician will remove an SD card from the drone and put it into the company computer for a detailed report on what the inspection found. Specialized software has the capability to recognize flaws in the blade, mark their location as meters from the tip or ground, and identify the type of flaw, such as surface impact, cracks, or leading-edge erosion and more.

“We will release Version 1.0 of the AirFusion Wind Edition software mid-summer,” says AirFusion CEO Dennis Chateauneuf. He said that the

solution has generated an extraordinary amount of interest and “dozens of productive conversations are taking place with owner-operators, wind-turbine manufacturers, and many of the service companies with a great deal of interest coming from Europe and Asia.”

“We are largely agnostic about the drone used in the inspection. Many platforms can carry the appropriate sensors, and meet the overall need for accurate flight, durability, and so on. We will suggest a variety of UAV choices that will be technically suitable to the task,”

(LEFT) AAIR’s Grant Leaverton, the new breed of wind tech, flies a drone for a wind turbine inspection. He says that blade inspections are just the first of the services drones will provide to take cost out of wind farm O&M.

(BELOW) The WindSpect drone will capture high-resolution images and video during inspection flights.

says AirFusion Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Wells.

An enormous advantage is that the software’s accuracy improves over time. “The more images it ‘sees’ and learns from, the better the end result. For example, if after using the AirFusion platform a company has archival footage that spans two or more years, the system may be able to indicate there is a crack in this location today that was not present a year ago. Was there a precursor we might have picked up to predict this problem? It could be something subtle, perhaps something under the surface of the blade. This temporal analysis is another benefit we will exploit to constantly improve the performance of the software. The system is smart today, but will become smarter over time,” says Greg Pepus, AirFusion’s SVP of Software Development.

Collision avoidanceUpWind Solutions, an independent operations and maintenance service provider for the wind industry, recently added blade inspections using UAVs to its services by partnering with SkySpecs. Both companies say the partnership will deliver high-quality images for reports, improving safety and reducing inspection costs.

SkySpecs says it provides an advanced UAV for easy completion of turbine blade inspections. What's more, SkySpecs’ collision avoidance technology lets technicians with minimal flight training or experience conduct high-quality inspections from only a few feet away from the blade without risk of collision.

UpWind said a few other benefits of the technology include autonomous flight software that lets the company rapidly complete high-quality, low-risk inspections. High-definition images and video are produced for reports and to let users zoom in closely to problem points identified throughout the inspection. A technician can take control over the automated UAV any time to capture more images of a specific blade area. For More Information Call

1-800-852-1368 or E-mail [email protected] MADE IN THE U.S.A.

• 500 Nm – 8100 Nm

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25-mega-pixel images Grant Leaverton, General Manager with UAV inspection company Advanced Air Inspection AAIR, has readied 6 and 8-rotor UAVs that can carry 25-mega-pixel cameras aloft, and conduct research on several other useful diagnostic sensors.

“Typically the more rotors the more stable the platform. Weight extracts its cost in flight time. The heavier the payload, the shorter the flight time. But what we can do now is the tip of an iceberg for industrial infrastructure inspections. For the time being, most will focus on the high-resolution inspection of blades, nacelles, and towers — the places that are not easy to reach,” he said.

The number of blades examined in a day depends on the type of inspection,

The blade image from AAIR shows sever trailing-edge damage and is typical of images captured by drone carried cameras.

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DRONES ARE IN THE AIR


“When focused on a particular feature, say the leading edge and looking for erosion, you can do 12 to 20 blades in a day depending on the height of the tower. But that is better than two per day with rope access or cranes. And if you want to cover every inch of blade, that of course takes more time,” said Leaverton.

Another plus: You can fly the UAV regardless of where the turbine rotor stops. “This is more of a personal preference issue. However, because we are taking pictures, we get the best lighting for photography with the blades pointing straight down. However, in a no-wind situation, you cannot turn or position the rotor but you can still do the inspection,” he said. The platform is easier to fly without wind.

While visual inspections are the obvious application, other sensors are getting auditions. One intriguing technology is infra-red. “If you are looking for internal defects that are barely subsurface, an infrared camera might reveal them. That’s the theory. Also, if the blade has delaminations, subsurface cracks, or wrinkles in the fiberglass, that will

(LEFT) SkySpecs drone got airborne at the recent AWEA WINDPOWER 2015 Conference.

(BELOW) A typical screen from AirFusion shows a portion of an inspection report possible from a Windspect flight. Developer Greg Pepus says the software will provide analysis of images such as severity of damage and location indicators. IR cameras may soon provide other possibilities, such as internal blade damage.

show up as a heat signature. The thinking is that such flaws will have to be close to the surface to show up, and depend on the sensitivity of the equipment,” explained Leaverton. “It’ is an interesting potential because internal defects are huge issues for owners. The defects are hard to detect and they can propagate and turn into catastrophic failures. So detecting internal defects will be a curious proposition.”

There is also more around the wind farm that needs inspection. “A lot of wind-farms owners operate their own transmission lines and substations. The visual inspections are a big deal, along with infrared thermal imaging for detecting hot spots or broken insulators. Another sensor to detect corona discharges would indicate broken hardware such as insulators.”

For utilities, keeping the right-of-way open is critical. For example, it’s important to keep transmission lines free of vegetation, trees over lines, overgrowth, and encroachment. Infrared is also good for looking for vegetation.

Ideas for improvementLeaverton suggests improving a few things. For example, knowing where one picture out of hundreds came from is important. “Before starting an inspection, you must know which blade you are looking at, and identify the hub. So before the inspection, we find a way to ID the blade. We use a light board on which we write, Blade 1.” This issue is handled different from company to company.

Because where you are on the blade is also an issue, industry guidelines would prove useful. “A problem is that blades have no reference lines on them. Some have markings and others have lightning protection that serves as a

landmark. In absence of reference marks, we use geo tagging in each photo so we know the altitude at which each picture was taken. That works best when the blade is straight down.

Measuring defects is also more art than science at this

What we can do now is the tip of an iceberg for industrial infrastructure inspections. Most, however, will focus on the high-resolution inspection of blades, nacelles, and towers.



time. You have go on the relative features of the blade and understand the width of the frame. “It’s necessary to maintain a steady distance from the blade so you know, for instance, that each frame represents one meter. But that is imperfect so in the report, we relate damages with respect to each other rather than absolute measurement.”

When a pilot of the UAV has a video screen to see what UAV is seeing, “You get a first person video perspective of what the camera sees. When using a two-man crew, one might use goggles, so both would look at a blemish and discuss the problem. Once you get the picture on the computer you can look even closer because the high resolution allows zooming in on the area of interest,” he said.

In the end, the goal is to better allocate repair dollars. “Wind-farm owners won’t fix everything, but if we can identify the worst of things, that is useful. And that is a value-add,” said Leaverton.

On the horizonMore sensors in development might identify water in the blade or spot where the laminations are coming apart, or to carry RFID sensors if it is necessary to do some sort of inventory management.

“We are hard at work evaluating a wide variety of sensor types in our lab today,” said AirFusion’s Chateauneuf. “The ultimate goal is to be able look under the surface, to look inside the blade. So we’re working on that and other sensor-based techniques to add functionality for future releases like truly automated flight control where the UAV effectively “flys itself” around the blade to collect the data automatically.”

Later, an automated flight control feature will let the drones fly themselves in a pattern around the blades. This is subject to FAA regulations because flight control is one of those things that are only done with permission. “But we are working on that

because of its great potential,” added Wells. Fly-it-yourself is another possibility

said Leaverton. “If a wind farm wants to buy a UAV, we’ll be glad to provide flight instructions.”

In addition to inspections, it’s not hard to imagine the drones doing cosmetic repair in a year or two and more serious repairs after that. This is all good news for the wind industry because the speed, accuracy, and detail will shave more off O&M costs making wind-generated power all the more competitive with other generators of electricity. W

WHAT DO YOU THINK?



The AAIR drone will carry a camera capable of 25-megabyte pixel images. The frame is wider at one end to accommodate an unobstructed view for the camera.


®

Delivering Education and Opportunities for the Wind Energy Industry

AWEA Wind Resource & Project Energy Assessment Seminar 2015September 16 – 17 I New Orleans, LA

AWEA Offshore WINDPOWER® 2015 Conference & ExhibitionSeptember 29 – 30 I Baltimore, MD

AWEA Wind Power on Capitol Hill 2015October 6 – 7 I Washington, D.C.

AWEA Wind Energy Finance & Investment Seminar 2015October 14 – 15 I New York ,NY

AWEA Wind Energy Fall Symposium 2015November 3 – 5 I Albuquerque, NM

Make your plans to attend these AWEA educational events:

VISIT www.awea.org/events FOR MORE DETAILS.

AWEA_EventsAD Fall15_9x10.875.indd 1 5/29/15 10:09 AMAWEA_Wind_6-15_Vs1.indd 53 6/18/15 6:40 PM

AND MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Wind turbine transformers pose a unique set of challenges to the designers and engineers who specify them. The transformers are typically of distribution size and rating, but do a job that differs from a standard distribution unit.

The illustration Schematic for a wind farm and its transformers shows a typical setup for a wind farm, from the turbine to the grid connection. The variability of wind is an important factor here because it causes wide load fluctuations and often several in one day. This places unique demands when compared to a distribution transformer, which may only see one or two load cycles.

The converter between generator and transformer is also an important feature. The converter is in place to take the variable frequency and voltage output from the generator, and convert it to a stable frequency and voltage output that’s suitable for grid connection. The downside of using a converter, however, is that it imposes harmonics on the transformer, which must be accounted

for in design. The magnitude and composition of the harmonic load may also vary.

Along with an inconsistent load, a transformer must deal with potential faults. Because it’s connected in an array with other units, there’s a reasonable possibility of faults occurring somewhere on the array that must continually be managed by the transformer.

As power levels increase in wind turbines, it’s also necessary to increase the operating voltage of transformers. Consequently, manufacturers are now specifying more liquid-filled transformers in place of the cast-resin versions commonly used in lower power turbines. Liquid-filled transformers have shown higher reliability and offer proven longevity in mechanically stressful environments.

Designers face a tough decision when selecting a type of transformer fluid to use from the many options available. Two key considerations that should impact this choice: fire safety and environmental impact.

Mark Lashbrook • Senior Applications Engineer • M&I Materials

Deciding on what type of transformer fluid to use in a wind turbine is a challenge considering the many options available on the market today. Two key considerations that should impact this choice: fire safety and environmental impact.

MAKING TRANSFORMERFLUIDS SAFER

Transformers in wind turbines and elsewhere on wind-farm substations can hold many liters of insulating oil. Eventually, the oil wears out and needs replacing, and ideally with and upgraded oil. Photo: Vaxomatic


Feat Transformers_6-15_Vs6.indd 43 6/19/15 1:05 PM

4 4 WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT www.windpowerengineering.com JUNE 2015 WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 4 5

Schematic for a wind farm and its transformers

A wind farm requires several different types of transformers, as indicated by the schematic. (Source: “Transformers for wind turbine generators,” S. Sarkar, Virginia Transformer Corp, 2013)

G

G

G

G

CONVERTER

FILTER

TURBINE TRANSFORMER

EARTHING TRANSFORMER

COLLECTOR TRANSFORMER

COLLECTOR TRANSFORMER

GRID TRANSFORMER

EARTHING TRANSFORMER

TURBINE TRANSFORMER

TURBINE TRANSFORMER

TURBINE TRANSFORMER

FILTER

FILTER

FILTER

CONVERTER

CONVERTER

CONVERTER

Fire-risk assessment When a transformer is located within a turbine, fire safety must be addressed to reduce the risk of costly equipment damage and injury to site personnel. There’s always a risk to workers during construction or turbine maintenance, so minimizing hazards must be a priority.

According to IEC 61039 (Classification of Insulating Liquids 2008), fluid dielectrics can be classified based on their fire point. The table to the right lists the fire points of common transformer fluids and the resulting IEC classification. The letter in the third column denotes the fire point. For instance, ‘O’ class is below 300°C and ‘K’ class is above 300°C. The number indicates the calorific value of the fluid, whereby ‘1’ represents a value above 42MJ/kg, ‘2’ indicates between 32MJ/kg and 42MJ/

kg, and ‘3’ means less than 32MJ/kg. The highest rating of K3 is awarded to the highest fire-safe fluids.

By using K-Class fluid-filled transformers, the fire hazard is significantly reduced. In fact, in the 35-plus year history of K-Class fluids there has never been a reported fire incident. Mineral oil doesn’t satisfy the criteria of Class K less flammable

fluid. It’s deemed high risk and unsuitable for transformers installed within turbines.

Turbine operators are finding an alternative and wider use for ester-based fluids because of their fire-resistant properties. These fluids provide a combination of anti-wear qualities and environmental protection properties that are absent in mineral oil.

Environmental considerationsIn addition to fire safety, environmental considerations present an important safety issue and should be factored in when choosing a transformer fluid. Any leakage or spillage of fluid can have a direct and sometimes devastating impact on the local environment.

Accidental or negligent misuse of these materials can also lead to legal consequences. Users should ensure related protocols are followed and that state and government legislation is understood before project installations commence.

With transformers, the main component that can damage the environment is the fluid contained in the tank. Mineral oil has traditionally been used, but the risks of use have proven high in wind turbines. Should the oil spill after an accident or a fire, extensive damage can result, including the pollution of drinking water or damage to the sea in offshore wind farms. Clean-up costs are also steep and containment is often required even for transformers with relatively small volumes of mineral oil.

When deciding on a transformer fluid, it’s important to consider how long

Classification of transformer fluids to IEC 61039

Type of Fluid Fire Point Classification

Mineral oil 170°C O1

Synthetic ester >300°C K3

Natural ester >300°C K2

Silicone liquid >300°C K3

TRANSFORMERS


WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 4 5

TRANSFORMERS

the material persists before it’s degraded. The main internationally recognized biodegradation test is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 301. It takes the test substance, mixes it with an activated sludge (usually from a wastewater plant), and then monitors how long it takes for the substance to biodegrade.

For a substance to be readily biodegradable under OECD guidelines, it must reach 60% degradation within 10 days of reaching 10%. This “10-day window” criterion means tested material must reach 10% carbon dioxide evolution within that timeframe. Because this test regime is extremely stringent, it’s expected that any material that achieves “readily biodegradable” status will rapidly degrade if released into the environment. It’s worth noting that some materials may be termed inherently biodegradable, but this is not equivalent to “readily biodegradable” just because these fluids degrade slowly.

The graph Comparative biodegradation rates shows those for common transformer fluids. The chart indicates that ester-based fluids easily meet the readily biodegradable criteria. The fact ester fluids degrade rapidly in the environment, however, doesn’t mean they will degrade quickly in the transformer. The processes that lead to biodegradation are very different to those that lead to fluid ageing in operation.

Biodegradation requires the presence of microbes that break fluids down and a suitable environment for them to reside. Usually this means the presence of water and appropriate temperatures. In a transformer system, the environment is far too hot and dry to sustain microbes and they would die off rather quickly, so the fluid could not biodegrade under normal operation.

Safer optionsIn terms of fire safety and biodegradability, ester-based fluids are a preferred choice for many wind-turbine operators. The fluids come in two types: synthetic and natural. When evaluating



TRANSFORMERS

which ester oil to choose, the main difference is in their oxidation stability. Synthetic esters are extremely stable and suitable for breathing transformers that let the fluid contact the air. Natural esters are less oxidation stable and are only recommended for sealed systems.

For offshore turbines, or those found in remote locations, a synthetic ester is often the preferred choice. Even in a sealed transformer, a synthetic ester provides a robust solution and won’t degrade if the seal is compromised.

When designing and specifying transformers for wind turbines, an increase in onerous power demands is leading to the use of liquid-filled units, rather than the cast-resin designs that were widely used in the past. The selection of the correct liquid for a transformer is key to ensuring that a turbine is safe, reliable, and imposes minimal risk or impact on the environment should fluid leakage ever occur. W

Comparative biodegradation rates

The graph shows the biodegradation rates of common transformer fluids. Esther-based fluids clearly meet the readily biodegradable criteria.



The emerging

MICROGRIDS

market

A typical GE control platform that can be used to host intelligent grid-management software for microgrids. Researcher Sumit Bose details the project developments for GE’s Enhanced Microgrid Control System (eMCS) in this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlPvEdg3ad8.

Michelle Froese • Senior Editor

IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO INVEST IN THE ENERGY MARKET, you might want to consider the growing microgrid industry. At least that’s what Tesla Motors is doing. The maker of the sleek Model S electric car aspires to become a major player in the business of microgrids, and for good reason.

Recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan points to a significant spike in growth occurring from 2015 onwards with installations for microgrids increasing every year until 2020. Similar findings from Navigant Research predict the market will reach nearly $20 billion in annual microgrid-related revenue by 2020. Under a more aggressive scenario, this figure could reach even closer to $40 billion.

“Microgrids are inching their way into the mainstream, with the focus of the market shifting from technology validation to questions

surrounding the most promising business models,” said Peter Asmus, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. As of 2Q 2015, the firm identified a total of 12,031 MW of microgrid capacity throughout the world, up from 4,393 MW in 2Q 2014—a near tripling of the known scope of the microgrid market.

What is a microgrid? The U.S. Department of Energy defines a microgrid as “a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. A microgrid can connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or island-mode.”

Feat Microgrids_6-15_Vs3.indd 47 6/19/15 1:15 PM


Basically, a microgrid is a distributed power system with the ability to self-supply, manage, and operate with or without the main grid as required. Microgrids do so through the use of a master controller that acts as the “brain” of the system, collecting data from connected energy sources while determining how to best control and operate that energy.

Through this brainpower, microgrids have the ability to improve power quality by reducing grid imbalances and by providing a reliable supply of energy. They can also help solve intermittency issues commonly associated with renewable sources such as wind and solar power. Microgrids can serve as a back-up power source or bolster the main power grid during periods of heavy demand.

In recognition of the growing microgrid market, the U.S. Department of

Energy has begun funding several grants to related projects. One of those grants went to utility provider ComED just last fall. They received a $1.2 million grant to build a first-of-its-kind master controller that could drive the operation of a cluster of microgrids, which connects multiple networks. ComED assembled a group of science and technology partners for the project, including Alstom Grid, S&C Electric, Schneider Electric, the University of Denver, and others.

“There is no doubt that microgrids will be core components of the future

integrated grids and extensive research and development efforts will be undertaken in upcoming years,” said Amin Khodaei, Ph.D., from the University

of Denver, in a related press statement. “The truly remarkable and distinguishing feature of this project is that it is initiated and will be led by a utility company.”

Utilities aren’t commonly known for their openness to outside power sources, particularly ones that can work independently and off the main grid. However, ComEd’s community-based microgrids have the potential to provide benefits to a city through improved reliability and enhanced resiliency in response to unexpected disasters or severe weather-related events.

A surge of serious weather events have occurred over the last few years, leading to grid outages that could have been prevented with microgrids in place. In fact, the Village of Potsdam in northern New York, which is no stranger to harsh weather and ice storms that have damaged utility lines in the past, will serve as test grounds for an Enhanced Microgrid Control System (eMCS). This system is currently under development by General Electric (GE) and several partners, including the National Grid, with the aid of a $1.2 million grant from the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, $381,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and an additional $300,000 from GE.

The purpose of this advanced microgrid system is to provide resilient, high-quality power to critical loads during power disruptions. The system is designed

(LEFT) Power and automation supplier, ABB, has partnered with wind energy com-pany, Vestas, to electrify off-grid communities in Africa with low-cost wind-diesel generation combined with microgrids.

(BELOW) The new hybrid energy system currently under construction on the Bear River Band site in California is the only system of its kind combining wind and solar energy with an advanced energy storage system. The turbines are just visible above the solar array.

There is no doubt that microgrids will be core components of the future integrated grids

and extensive research and development efforts will be undertaken in upcoming years.


WINDPOWER ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT 4 9

MICROGRIDS

to work even if disconnected from the main power station for as long as two weeks.

“Together, GE’s control system and the underground microgrid envisioned for the Potsdam community, could serve as a model for towns and cities across the country that are susceptible to weather disasters and blackouts,” said Sumit Bose, principal investigator on the project and microgrid technology leader at GE Global Research.

Remote power The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that by 2020, developing countries will need to double their electrical power output.

“All told, the developing nations will represent 80% of total growth in energy production and consumption by the 2035,” this according to Navigant Research. “One could safely assume that the majority of these new power supplies will be produced and distributed via remote microgrids and other related forms of distributed energy resources.”

To meet this demand, companies are taking action and joining forces. Vestas’ Wind for Prosperity initiative, for instance, is a commercially based business model designed to bring affordable and reliable wind-generated electricity systems to rural populations in developing countries. One way they are doing so is by partnering with ABB, a power and automation supplier, to provide off-grid electricity to communities in Africa. Vestas is supplying re-furbished wind turbines and ABB is offering their microgrid power-stabilization solutions to create hybrid-generation systems that are well suited to operate in remote locations with limited infrastructure.

Canadian company Tugliq Energy has retained Hatch, a technical engineering and consulting firm, to engineer a microgrid control system for its wind and diesel energy storage demonstration project at a remote Arctic mine site in northern Québec. The five-year pilot project, which began in 2014, is testing wind-power integration on an VIDEO BORESCOPES

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islanded microgrid under severe Arctic climate conditions. This hybrid system integrates renewable power and fossil

fuel generation with the intent of maintaining grid stability and minimizing energy losses from wind curtailment (when the wind power supply is greater than the load). The pilot project is also testing three different storage technologies, including lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen, and flywheel storage. Flywheel devices store kinetic energy from the high-speed rotator.

System sizeSolarCity, a company that defines itself as America’s largest solar-power provider, is one of the first to incorporate Tesla’s lithium-ion battery technology. The result is that SolarCity is now able to configure and offer their solar system as a stand-alone, off-grid power supply.

According to the company website: “The combination of solar-power generation and battery storage will make the utility grid safer and less susceptible to service interruptions, and will also lower the cost to expand and maintain the grid.”

Initial plans are to present these off-grid systems to eligible customers in Hawaii who are otherwise prevented from using solar power.

SETTING STANDARDS

The U.S. Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) was initially established as a public-private partnership by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to coordinate smart grid standards. As of July of 2014, the NIST/SGIP Priority Action Plan 24 (PAP-24) was initiated to include standards for microgrids with respect to interconnection, controllers, and information models. Althoughstandardsexistthatdefinethebasicmicrogrid connection and disconnection process (IEEE 1547.4), there are no regulations related to the grid interactive functions and operations of microgrids with respect to the main grid. PAP-24 will review the requirements and the current IEEE 1547, with the goal of setting revised standards within the next two years.


MICROGRIDS

The company is also expanding into larger community services. Because a microgrid can aggregate power production and demand from more than one source, it can serve multiple sectors. But when does a microgrid become a macrogrid? For some, even the community-scale system SolarCity offers stretches the limit of the term “micro.”

At its core is the ability of a microgrid to separate and isolate itself from the main grid (known as “islanding”), but for some communities especially in remote locations, the microgrid is the primary grid.

For California’s Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria, their new hybrid energy system currently under construction is the only system of its kind combining renewables with advanced energy storage. Working with JLM Energy, the system will include a 30-kW microgrid supported by a 100-kW PV solar system and 20 Zefr wind turbines.

The Tribe currently has a single 10-kW wind turbine that has provided power for a component of their wastewater treatment facility for a number of years. Developing more sustainable onsite power to reduce reliance on the main grid allows the Tribe

FUNDING MICROGRIDS

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $8 million in 2014 for microgrid projects to help communities better prepare for extreme weather events and other potential electricity disruptions. The aim of the projects is to develop advanced controllers and system designs for microgrids of less than 10 MW. For example, the Electric Power Research Institute will develop a commercially viable standardized microgrid controller that can allow a community to provide continuous power for critical loads. Commonwealth Edison will also develop and test a commercial-grade microgrid controller capable of controlling a system of two or more interconnected microgrids. A total of seven projects received an award for approximately $1.2 million. Learn more at: http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-8-million-improve-resiliency-grid

more self-sufficiency, which is a significant component of their Tribal Sovereignty.

“A large part of sovereignty is independence and self-sufficiency,” explained Barry Brenard, Bear River Tribal Council Member At Large. “Anything that makes us more independent strengthens our sovereignty and bring us closer to our traditional values.”

The DOE released a study earlier this spring that echoed the self-sufficiency of microgrid demonstrations, providing evidence that deployments tested offered higher reliability and power quality than even utility-power systems.

So microgrid or macrogrid, what does size really matter when an opportunity arises to deliver more affordable and reliable electricity? W

Automotive and energy storage com-pany Tesla Motors now offers the Pow-erwall battery for use in a microgrid sys-tem. It charges using electricity generated from solar panels and includes monitoring and control options. Solar energy provider SolarCity has incor-porated the Power-wall battery to create a turnkey residential solar-battery backup system.


A small-scale power station, microgrids can incorporate multiple energy sources including renewables, and can serve as a back-up power source or to bolster the main grid during times of heavy demand.


On the next few pages of this magazine, you will be introduced to six people with the inspiration to create the

equipment, devices, and companies that make wind turbines work, and those with the gift to foster the growth of

this valuable industry. These Innovators and Influencers have had a significant impact on the wind energy industry

and the staff of Windpower Engineering and Development would like to celebrate their success in this fifth annual

Innovators and Influencers special section.

»to Windpower Engineering & Development’s Innovators and Influencers of 2015

T H A N K YO U

Jeffrey GrybowskiDeepwater Wind CEOBreaking ground in Rhode Island earlier

this April, the Block Island Wind Farm

represents a major milestone for the

U.S. It marks the first offshore wind

project in America, thanks in part to the

dedication of Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO

of Deepwater Wind.

Trudy ForsythEngineerA wind-power industry veteran since

the mid-90’s, Trudy Forsyth graduated

from the University of Colorado-Denver

in the late 80’s with a B.S. and M.S. in

mechanical engineering. She is currently

managing director of Wind Advisors Team,

a consulting firm specializing in small and

distributed wind standards and policies.

Bruce Neumiller, Brian Halverson, and Brian HastingsGearbox Express FoundersGearboxes have been a

headache for the wind

industry. The response of the

founders of Gearbox Express

has been to design upgrades

and improvements for the

units that come into their

facility for repair so when

the gearboxes leave, they

are better able to withstand

the punishing application of

generating power by wind.

The upgraded gearboxes

come with a five-year

warranty, about twice that of

original equipment.

Mike GarlandAWEA Board Chair and President of Pattern EnergyThe wind industry always needs

solid leadership so it should be

pleased with the election of Mike

Garland to Chair of the AWEA

Board. At the recent WINDPOWER

2015 Conference, Mr. Garland set

high goals for the wind industry

while he has the chair.

Windpower Engineering would

like to join readers in thanking

each of these people and their

companies for driving this

industry to where it is today.

And thanks for making the wind

industry dynamic, exciting, and a

great business to be a part of.

» Because we work with inspired companies, our gratitude goes to:


Intro_Influencers_Innovators_Vs4.indd 52 6/19/15 2:11 PM

» J e f f re y G r y b o ws k i D e e pwa te r Wi n d C EO

2 0 1 5 I N N O V A T O R

Pioneering offshore wind in AmericaBreaking ground at a construction site in Rhode Island earlier this April, the Block Island Wind Farm represents a major milestone for the United States. It will mark the first offshore wind project in America, thanks in part to the dedication of Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind.

Established in 2008, Deepwater Wind’s mission is to develop and build a portfolio of large-scale offshore wind projects in the North Eastern part of the U.S. The company’s Block Island Wind Farm is scheduled to provide 30 MW of offshore wind energy, enough to power over 17,000 homes on the island and the mainland.

“We are on the cusp of bringing offshore wind from theory to reality in the U.S.,” Grybowski said in a recent press statement. “We’re incredibly proud of our position at the forefront of the U.S. offshore wind industry.”

With a resume that includes serving as Chief of Staff to the Governor of the State of Rhode Island, Grybowski is known for his commitment to innovative business strategies and cutting-edge public policies. He’s advised on the formation and implementation of executive government

policies and even practiced corporate law at firms in New York.

Now as the manager of Deepwater’s offshore wind and transmission projects, he has been at the forefront of shaping the commercial structures and government policies necessary to support offshore wind in the U.S., which hasn’t been an easy task if Cape Wind serves as an example.

Unrelated to Deepwater Wind, the Cape Wind project was an approved offshore wind farm project off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts that never made it to

the construction phase because of alleged contractual and financial delays.

Where Cape Wind had planned for over 100 turbines, Block Island Wind Farm is starting off on a much smaller scale and will only consist of just five 6-MW turbines. Grybowski, who has been involved in the

project from day one, credits the initial small size to its success. The plan is to start small and then grow.

“We’re full speed ahead and moving ever closer to ‘steel in the water,’” he said. The Block Island Wind Farm is expected to reach completion in 2016, but the long-term goal is to build a larger wind farm of at least 200 turbines between Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

Grybowski credits commitment and patience as keys to his success. He said Block Island’s permitting process along

with finding the right local contractors took time, but so far his expertise has paid off. Block Island is the first U.S. offshore wind project to reach financial close.

“Our goal is not just to build a wind farm,” he said, “Our goal is to build a local industry for years to come.” W

Our goal is not just to build a wind farm. Our goal is to build a local industry for years to come.


Jeffrey Grybowski_Innovator 2015_Vs5.indd 53 6/19/15 2:15 PM

» Tr u d y Fo r sy t h E n g i n e e r

2 0 1 5 I N F L U E N C E R


A wind-power industry veteran since the mid-90’s, Trudy Forsyth graduated from the University of Colorado-Denver in the late 80’s with a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering. She is currently managing director of Wind Advisors Team, a consulting firm specializing in small and distributed wind standards and policies.

Despite almost 20 years in the wind industry, it wasn’t always an easy road for Forsyth. Women engineers were almost unheard of in the early 80’s. Ten women graduated from the bachelor’s program and only two remained in engineering after five years in the workforce. Forsyth was one of them.

She recently gave the keynote address at this year’s Women of Wind Energy (WoWE) annual luncheon, which took place at the American Wind Energy Association’s WINDPOWER 2015 Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida. Celebrating its 10th year, WoWE promotes the education, professional development, and advancement of women in the renewable energy workforce.

In her presentation, Forsyth discussed the lessons she’s learned as a women engineer and that she would like to impart to others in the field. Each year WoWE grants support to women students, funding their registration and travel expenses to the WINDPOWER conference.

“Get comfortable being conspicuous,” she said during her speech. “You’re going to

stand out as a woman engineer no matter what you do, what you say, or what your goals are because our numbers haven’t increased since the 80’s.” Forsyth noted that the number of female engineers has

remained steady at around 15% though she would love to see that percentage increase.

“I believe there are some women who don’t turn to engineering because they fear standing out in the crowd, and that’s a shame,” she said.

With a career that began in the aerospace industry before shifting to wind power, there are times along the way that Forsyth felt isolated as a female engineer, but one of her lessons learned was not to take things personally.

“Find a way to be heard,” she encouraged. “Find a way to communicate so people will hear you. Women often have a very large toolbox of communication skills from which to choose from and it’s important to use those skills.”

Forsyth has developed and relied on her own toolbox of skills over the years. Her resume includes success as the program leader for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s distributed wind turbine program, which included small and medium wind turbines. Since 1995, she coordinated efforts between the

NREL/National Wind Technology Center technical staff and U.S. manufacturers for designing and testing new small wind turbines, accredited testing of commercial small wind turbines, and publishing turbine

field performance and test reports.Along with authoring and co-authoring

several technical papers, she also co-led the development of the second and third revisions of the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) Small Wind Turbine Design standard (61400-2) and the International Energy Agency Recommended Practice on Consumer Labeling of Small Wind Turbines.

Aside from helping manage the Wind Advisors Team, Forsyth serves as board president for the Small Wind Certification Council, past-president and co-founder of WoWE, and it’s of little surprise that she was honored as the organization’s 2014 Woman of the Year. As if wind power wasn’t enough, she is also a past board member for the American Solar Energy Society.

“Lead by example but let others alongside you grow as well,” she said during her keynote speech, stressing how important it is to work hard but to also recognize and foster the strength and development of co-workers. “You owe it to the next generation and to the renewable industry to work hard and help others flourish.” W

Lead by example but let others alongside you grow as well.

Trudy Forsyth_Influencer 2015_Vs2.indd 54 6/19/15 2:17 PM

» B r i a n H a l ve r s o n , B r u ce N e u m i l le r,

a n d B r i a n H a s t i n g s Fo u n d e r s o f G ea r b ox Ex p re s s

2 0 1 5 I N N O V A T O R S

Gearboxes have been a headache for the wind industry ever since turbines passed the 1-MW size over a decage ago. If that was not bad enough, the root cause of many problems eluded engineers until recently.

While the industry wrestled with the problem, the only solution it knew for a failed gearbox was to replace it. And although many uptower repairs are now possible, the replacement gearbox was little better than the broken unit.

In this environment, three guys recognized a huge installed base of wind turbines that were not properly serviced by the aftermarket. “Being gearbox and bearing guys, we saw ways to offer an improved and upgraded product, rather than a same-as replacement gearbox,” says Bruce Neumiller. “This would also provide an increased level of customer service to the industry.”

To serve the recognized need, Neumiller along with Brian Halverson and Brian Hastings, organized the company now called Gearbox Express. Each man brings complimentary experience to the company. “Halverson and I have been in gearing most of our working lives and Hastings was in bearings. Brian Halverson is a good operations guy, Brian Hastings is a good strategic finance guy, and I’m the network and sales guy,” says Neumiller, who is now company CEO.

More significant than just repairing gearboxes is their upgrade to the units, accomplished with the assistance of gearbox design-firm Romax and bearing-manufacturer Timken. Romax provides analytical assistance, as well as detailing and optimizing the gear and bearing micro-geometry while Timken helps engineer upgraded bearings and components. Other gearbox upgrades include active equipment to keep water out of gearbox oil, longer than standard lubricant filters to remove six-micron debris from oil while not sacrificing flow, and improvements to other components to give the redesign a longer lease on life. The company’s confidence in their work lets them include a five-year warranty, about twice that of original equipment.

The three opened up shop early 2012 in a vacant 43,000 ft2 facility near Milwaukee. But in just a couple years, the company has outgrown the building and will move into a 75,000 ft2 custom-built facility in a few months.

So for making wind turbines more reliable and productive, and the wind industry just a little more profitable, we recognize the founders of Gearbox Express as Wind Industry Innovators for 2015. W

Being gearbox and bearing guys, we saw ways to offer an improved and upgraded product, rather than a same-as replacement gearbox.


Bruce Neumiller_Innovator 2015_Vs3.indd 55 6/19/15 2:27 PM

» M i ke G a r la n d AW EA B o a rd C h a i r

a n d Pre s i d e n t o f Pa tte r n E n e rgy

2 0 1 5 I N N O V A T O R


The wind industry always needs solid leadership so it should be pleased with the election of Mike Garland to Chair of the AWEA Board. At the recent WINDPOWER 2015 Conference, outgoing Board Chair Susan Reilly identified Garland as a leader in energy and particularly wind energy.

Garland began his career after graduating from the University of California Berkley with a degree in physics and continued with graduate studies in environmental administration. There he co-authored a book on residential energy conservation. After that, Garland worked for the State of California as Chief of Energy Assessments where he initiated a long overdue cost-benefit analysis for state procurements and created the public-private partnership program for energy supply, conservation, and cogeneration.

Then in an apparent shift in directions, he tried his hand at investment banking where he invested in a range of infrastructure

projects across the U.S. for instance, he organized the first large scale, institutional wind lease in 1989 by selling Nextera its first ownership interest in wind. Garland then organized the first cross-border tax financing in the U.S. for a power project. Ordinarily, this would be enough to consider him as an innovator in the wind industry, but he continued.

More recently, he founded one of the most successful infrastructure funds in the U.S. and 2009 cofounded Pattern Energy, the company he runs today. Still setting trends, Pattern Energy filed with the FTC to become the first yieldco in the U.S.

Reilly said that over Garland’s career, he has been involved with the development and financing of over 5,000 MW of renewables, working in 40 countries, and raising over $15 billion for power projects. For these significant accomplishments, we recognize Mike Garland a Wind Industry Innovator for 2015. W

Mike Garland_Innovator 2015_Vs1.indd 56 6/19/15 2:40 PM

E Q U I P M E N T


Modular towers for greater heightsBlattner Energy, Inc.www.blattnerenergy.com

Blattner Energy now offers post-tension concrete towers that

provide significantly higher hub heights. Tower heights can be

increased from an average of 80 m up to 140 m, letting them reach

into higher wind speeds. This results in better energy yields and

opens up new areas to wind development that weren’t available

or cost-effective with shorter towers. Blattner’s pre-cast and pre-

stressed modular concrete tower can adapt to fit all turbine manufacturers and rotor configurations. Tower

sections can also fit on a standard flatbed truck, eliminating the need for escorts and specialized equipment.

Nitrogen servicing kit for wind turbinesCv Internationalwww.cvintl.com

Cv International’s WIND KIT

addresses technician safety and

productivity for nitrogen servicing

during wind turbine maintenance.

With enhanced ergonomics, the

lightweight servicing kit consists

of a metal enclosure and high-

pressure components, such as

supply pressure and pressure

regulator valves. The standard kit

comes with a 28-in high-pressure

hose for attachment to the inlet

side of the enclosure with a QDC

connector coupled to a lightweight,

carbon-wound cylinder (containing

88 scf of Nitrogen at 4,500

psig). Internally, the kit features

a safety stress-relief valve set to

protect servicing equipment from

dangerous over-pressure.

Reducing main shaft bearing failures with an asymmetric design Schaeffler Groupwww.schaeffler.com

Schaeffler’s new

asymmetric main-

shaft bearing offers

improved axial stiffness

for higher axial load-carrying

capacities. Its design is based on extensive field

observations to reduce vibrations within a wind

turbine’s drivetrain and to cut maintenance and

repair costs. The asymmetric bearing includes

rollers coated with Schaeffler’s proprietary

Triondur C to protect against micro-pitting

damage, a two-piece cage to accommodate and

adjust to uneven roller speeds, and a coated

inner ring that protects the shaft against friction

corrosion. It also offers a special design feature

that makes bearing mounting as pain-free as

possible for the installer.

WPE_Equipment World_6-15_Vs2.indd 57 6/19/15 3:01 PM

E Q U I P M E N T

Electric torque tool puts torque sensor in head Aimcowww.aimco.com

The precision design of the HT Series combines high torque with

superior performance and durability in an electric tool that improves

productivity and ergonomics over other designs. AcraDyne’s transducer-

based torque-control system provides consistent, reliable torque values.

What's more, it monitors rotational angles when tightening. A few

addition features include faster free speed – up to three times faster

than competing models, and a closed Loop Torque Control System.

WPE_Equipment World_6-15_Vs2.indd 58 6/19/15 3:02 PM

Acradyne .....................................................39AeroTorque ................................................... 5Amsoil Inc. ................................................ IBCAWEA ............................................................42Aztec Bolting ....................cover/corner, 45Bachmann ..................................................... 8Campbell Scientific ...................................46Castrol ........................................................IFCCv International ......................................... 13Dexmet Corporation .................................. 9Gradient Lens Corporation .....................49Leine Linde Systems ................................50Mattracks ....................................................... 3Renewable NRG Systems ....................... BCWomen of Wind Energy ...........................58

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Ad index_June 2015_Vs3.indd 59 6/19/15 5:46 PM

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a wind turbine!

THE ADVANTAGES AND ENERGY of high-altitude winds have been known for quite some time but remail elusive. Recently, advances in technology have given companies such as Altaeros Energies the tools necessary to create viable options for harnessing that power.

Founded in 2010 at MIT, Altaeros Energies’ mission is simple: “To deploy the world’s first commercial airborne wind turbine to harness the abundant energy in winds at higher altitudes.” The company has started by developing the Buoyant Airborne Turbine (BAT).

The 35-ft wide BAT combines four main components: shell, turbine, tethers and ground station. Let’s start with the shell. Filled with helium and constructed from high-performance industrial fabrics, the shell “passively aligns into shifting winds while channeling them through the turbine,” Altaeros said. The turbine is a conventional, three-bladed, horizontal-axis design that generates electricity both when airborne and on the ground.

Connected to the shell are three load-bearing tethers transmitting power and anchoring BAT to the portable ground station. Tether control is automated, said the company, to adjust turbine altitude and stabilize the turbine based on changing winds. Built onto a trailer platform, the ground station conditions the power produced by the turbine before transmitting to the grid. Winches control tether speed and length, while landing rails safely secure the envelope when docked.

Operating at 600m, BAT produces two to three times more power than if its generator and rotor were on a conventional tower, Altaeros said. Each BAT generates enough electricity to power about 12 average homes. It reduces installation and transport costs by up to 90%, and can be inflated and deployed in less than 24 hours. BAT is suited for operation in rural, island, and arctic communities, military sites, agriculture and entertainment sectors, mining and oil and gas sectors, and for emergency response and disaster relief. W


Downwind 6-15_Vs2.indd 60 6/19/15 3:04 PM

AMSOIL_Wind_4-15_Vs1.indd 53 6/18/15 6:40 PM

I AM AUTOMATING CMSFOR YOU

Junda Zhu, PhDRNRG EngineerVermont USA

Advanced diagnostics or accessible information? With TurbinePhD you don’t have to choose. Learn how input from customers guided Junda and our development team to deliver the easiest-to-use condition monitoring system in the wind industry.www.renewablenrgsystems.com/TurbinePhD

Renewable NRG_Wind_6-15_Vs1.indd 53 6/18/15 6:42 PM

windpower engineering & development june 2015

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