Wind power

Superconducting Wire Sets New Current Capacity Record

August 17, 2024
Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation

Superconductors have for decades spurred dreams of extraordinary technological breakthroughs, but many practical applications for them have remained out of reach. Now a new study reveals what may be the world’s highest-performing high-temperature superconducting wires yet, ones that carry 50 percent as much current as the previous record-holder. Scientists add…

17 Jan 24

Flying Kites Deliver Container-Sized Power Generation

Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

On average, a humble wind turbine uses less land area per megawatt-hour than almost any other power source. Even so, a wind turbine and its tower can sometimes be too cumbersome. The still-nascent field of airborne wind energy (AWE) has a solution: Swap out the turbine for a kite on…

28 Dec 23

HVDC Networks Come to Europe

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The days are numbered for the Lerwick Power Station, whose diesel generators have supplied electricity to the Shetland Islands for over 70 years. Starting around the middle of 2024, the Shetlands—and also part of mainland Scotland—will be powered by the 443-megawatt Viking wind farm, consisting of 103 wind turbines on…

01 Nov 23

US’ largest offshore wind project granted government approval

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

President Joe Biden has granted the fifth offshore wind plan approval of his administration in an attempt to lower energy costs and create new jobs. Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, located 23.5 nautical miles off Virginia Beach, is expected to include 176 Siemens Gamesa 14MW wind turbines. …

17 Oct 23

Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm now fully operational

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

114 Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbines at Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm have all been switched on, taking the country a step closer to net zero. The 1,075MW wind farm has enough capacity to power nearly 1.6 million homes annually – approximately two-thirds of all homes in Scotland – displacing over…

10 Oct 23

World’s largest offshore wind farm begins powering Britain

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The National Grid has connected Dogger Bank in the North Sea, set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, to the UK electricity transmission network. The 277-turbine wind farm is located 70 nautical miles off the coast of Yorkshire. Upon its completion, scheduled for 2026, Dogger Bank will occupy…

23 Sep 23

Inside the Global Race to Tap Potent Offshore Wind

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

In a hangar at the University of Edinburgh, a triangular steel contraption sits beside a giant tank of water. Inside the tank, a technician in a yellow dinghy adjusts equipment so that the triangled structure can be hoisted into the water to see how it deals with simulated waves and…

22 Sep 23

Scotland signs ‘blueprint’ deal with onshore wind industry

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The Onshore Wind Sector Deal has been hailed as providing a “blueprint” for the rest of the UK. The goal of the agreement is to support the Scottish government in reaching its target of 20GW onshore wind by 2030, a figure more than double Scotland’s current operational capacity of 9.3GW.…

20 Sep 23

Tower of Power Charges EVs, No Grid Required

Civil, Structural & Architecture

The world’s transition to electric cars sounds daunting enough, without even considering upstream challenges such as beefing up a creaky electric grid and connecting that grid to a U.S. national target of 25 million EVs by 2030 (and a similarly ambitious set of goals worldwide). So, to that end, a…

08 Sep 23

‘Energy disaster’: offshore wind farms absent from government auction

Electrical, Electronics & Instrumentation, Mechanical, Production & Manufacturing

The UK’s renewable energy strategy has suffered a blow as no new offshore wind projects have been bought by developers at the latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction. Industry experts had warned that this might be the case after ministers refused to increase the maximum price for the auction despite…