The offshore wind turbines that will fulfil the UK’s Round 3 needs require a sophisticated supply chain of service and installation vessels, not to mention highly-developed port facilities. The industry has some way to go to reach Government targets but, as George Marsh explains, marine infrastructure will develop on the right track – as long as companies can keep up with demand.
29 July 2010
Dr Rob Banerjee, Vice President, Business Development at WebCore Technologies, discusses how a new core material can help manufacturers of large wind turbine blades optimise their designs.
20 July 2010
New and innovative core materials are adding design freedom, cost efficiency and other desirable qualities to composite sandwich structures, along with high strength, stiffness and optimised weight. Richard Stewart reports on new developments and an expanding range of applications for sandwich composites.
22 June 2010
GE's enthusiasm for the offshore wind turbine sector has been rekindled with the acquisition of ScanWind, and a new offshore model is planned. David Hopwood travelled to GE Wind's European wind turbine headquarters in Salzbergen, Germany, and spoke to Stephan Ritter, general manager of Europe & offshore wind for GE Energy's renewable energy business.
02 June 2010
Onshore wind is set to be the star technology in helping the EU’s 27 Member States to meet their mandatory targets for 20% of the EU’s energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. Gail Rajgor speaks to Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive Officer of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), about where the biggest markets will be and which other countries are worth watching for some potential surprises.
14 May 2010
The increased demand for large-scale composites, especially in aerospace applications, is driving a trend toward lighter-weight, durable composite tooling and away from metal tooling. Richard Stewart reports on innovations in the tooling industry and ways suppliers are helping composites manufacturers meet the new challenges and changing needs of the industry.
27 April 2010
According to analyst Emerging Energy Research (EER), the global installed offshore wind base is expected to grow to nearly 45 GW in 2020. But how far are we away from the technology and supply chain to reach that goal? Renewable Energy Focus' Kari Larsen investigates.
22 March 2010
“We didn’t understand why it shouldn’t be possible to mount a wind turbine on a floating construction,” Sjur Bratland, Asset Manager for Hywind at Statoil.
22 March 2010
Wind energy and vacuum infusion is one of the biggest opportunities today for the composites industry according to Reinier Jansen, Business Development Wind Energy, at Lantor BV. As well as blade manufacture, vacuum infusion is now also being used in nacelle production.
10 March 2010
There is good news in the wind for proponents of wind power. Wind turbine capacity has been increasing dramatically, and the unit cost of power generated by wind energy is expected to drop further. Much of this will continue to be credited to China’s efforts, according to a new report from the Global Intelligence Alliance.
15 February 2010
The manufacture of wind turbine blades has been based on thermoset composite technology, but thermoplastic composites could offer recyclability and other advantages. George Marsh reports on the current research going on into thermoplastic turbine blades.
08 February 2010
The demand for bigger wind turbines, powered by longer blades, has placed many challenges on the blade manufacturers and their suppliers. Paul Langemeier, Director, Global Market Development, and Christoph Scheuer, Market Development Manager, of Hexion Speciality Chemicals, review the history of blade manufacture and the challenges facing resin manufacturers today.
01 February 2010
The offshore wind industry has already garnered government support and is increasingly piquing the interest of the private sector thanks to its ability to contribute significantly to the European renewable energy targets of 2020. As installed capacity continues to grow, and market share increases, the banking sector will continue to become progressively more involved in this industry.
25 January 2010
Jeremy Tait of BVG Associates brings readers up-to-date with the vision for the UK offshore wind industry and offers perspectives on what this might mean as a business opportunity for the UK composites sector.
25 January 2010
Despite the current lull in demand for carbon fibres from high-volume users, the range of manufacturing applications for carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) continues to expand in the face of new demands for lighter, stronger and higher-performing products. Richard Stewart examines the markets for CFRP composites and how the manufacturers of carbon fibres are riding out the economic storm.
15 January 2010
Sally Sinai, Technical Support Manager at ITW Plexus, discusses the issues that should be considered before designing joints that will be bonded together with structural adhesives.
30 November 2009
The renewable energy industry suffers from intermittent wind but the conditions can be cured. That, at least is the tenor of a number of recent studies and reports. Even transmission operators who previously had serious reservations about wind energy are now thinking hard about dealing with the variable nature of wind power. As George Marsh discovers, most believe that the problem can be managed.
30 November 2009
If you are a foreign investor contemplating investment in the burgeoning wind energy generation business in the United States, beware of CFIUS!! No, this is not a disease, but a regulatory provision of US law that has a direct impact on any foreign investment involving national security.
29 October 2009
Following the publication by the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) of its annual statistical report, Reinforced Plastics interviewed leading officers of the organisation in order find out what the future holds for the US composites market and what role the organisation will play in that future.
28 October 2009
Turkey has a growing economy, a strategic location for international trade, and it is in negotiations to join the European Union. We take a look at the country’s composites industry.
15 September 2009