Wind Power

Welcome to the Wind Power news review – hosted by Windpower Monthly senior reporter, Robyn White, and Windpower Monthly reporter, Orlando Jenkinson – along with our regular panellists, Shashi Barla and Will Sheard.This time on the news review; we’ll ask our panellists for their views on the recent blade issues that impacted GE Vernova’s Haliade X turbines in the US and UK, and ask how serious this could be for the reputation of the offshore wind industry. We also explore how a new government in the UK is looking to re energise wind power in the country by boosting a recent renewables tender, and ending the de-facto ban on new onshore wind. Meanwhile, Siemens Gamesa’s 4.X turbines are back on sale again. Is there light at the end of the tunnel for this troubled wind turbine platform? Finally, we explore how China’s industrial dominance is causing concern for workers at European wind energy manufacturers. This episode was produced by Inga Marsden. 

In Episode 29 of the Wind Power podcast, recorded during last week’s WindEnergy Hamburg conference, GE Vernova’s Gilan Sabatier sat down with Windpower Monthly editor Ian Griggs.The discussion centred on how the company’s growth will be shaped by its customers’ needs and how three recent deals illustrate its wider strategy in new and emerging markets.Sabatier also touched on healthy competition between turbine firms, in Europe and beyond, which markets the turbine firm is keeping an eye on right now and how a favourable – or unfavourable – policy backdrop can turn a market on its head in a matter of months.This episode was produced by Inga Marsden. 

Speaking ahead of Wind Energy Hamburg, Ben Backwell, chief executive of GWEC, discusses tripling wind installations, the Inflation Reduction Act and whether global trade tensions could derail the energy transition.  Backwell spoke to Windpower Monthly editor Ian Griggs about whether global markets are on track to achieve a tripling of wind power installations by 2030, whether President Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act has lived up to the hype and why policy makers should avoid ramping up trade tensions with their competitors.The conversation also touched on how to bring emerging wind markets up to speed quickly, the UK’s role in the energy transition following the end of a de facto onshore wind in England and the how the rising tide of mis and disinformation is affecting the wind industry today.   This episode was produced by Inga Marsden 

As a country, Norway is heavily reliant on oil and gas exploitation to meet its energy demands. However, with the climate crisis encouraging a break from fossil fuels, Norway is increasingly looking to offshore wind to help with its energy transition. The country’s deep coastal waters mean most offshore wind in Norway will need to be built on floating platforms, and therefore rely on a technology that remains in its infancy around the world. In episode 27 of the Windpower Podcast, we spoke with two leading experts on Norwegian offshore wind to see whether floating wind can meet the demands of Norway’s energy transition, and what challenges it might face along the way. This episode was produced by Inga Marsden.

Welcome to the ‘Wind Power’ news review – hosted by Windpower Monthly’s editor, Ian Griggs, and Windpower Monthly reporter, Orlando Jenkinson – along with our regular panellists, Shashi Barla and Will Sheard.This time on the news review: has US offshore wind turned the corner after a series of setbacks? Our regular panelists give their verdict.The advance of Chinese turbine technology continues apace, but how concerned should Western OEMs be that their competitors will steal a march on them with European developers?Meanwhile, back in Europe, some developers have criticized so-called negative bidding in Germany and the Netherlands, claiming that it makes projects unviable but are state regulators listening to their concerns? And finally, is a summer of industrial strife on the cards after a German union, which represents workers from several turbine firms, threatened strikes if their pay demands are not met?This episode was produced by Til Owen

How vulnerable is wind industry infrastructure to physical and cyber-attacks – and is the risk growing?The owners and operators of today’s wind industry infrastructure must now navigate a new and murky world of unattributed physical attacks, cyber warfare and GPS jamming – as well as hybrid attacks comprising one or more of these elements.And as geopolitical tensions rise between Russia and Europe, China and the West - as well as other hostile state actors - what can the wind industry do about this growing threat?In episode 26 of the Wind Power Podcast – the final episode of our series recorded at the Wind Europe conference in Bilbao earlier this year – we spoke to a security expert and a senior underwriter for a specialist insurance firm to find out more about the calculus of risk. This episode was produced by Inga Marsden 

This time on the news review: Our panellists discuss a change of leadership, rumoured job cuts and a new offshore turbine in development at Siemens Gamesa.  A change of leadership, rumoured big job cuts and a new offshore turbine in development – we ask our panelists to analyse the big developments at Siemens Gamesa. Meanwhile, as the first shots are fired in a potential EU/China trade war, our guests discuss whether new tariffs could slow down the energy transition and whether Chinese turbine firms are a threat to Europe anyway. And industry safety is back on the agenda after a man died in a fatal fall at a Texas wind project and another man’s hand was crushed in an incident in the UK. Finally, is GE Vernova’s ‘workhorse turbine’ strategy one that fellow Western OEMs are likely to adopt for themselves? This episode was produced by Inga Marsden

Vic Abate, chief executive of GE Vernova’s wind segment, discusses the company’s Haliade-X workhorse turbine and how long-term relationships with its customers will determine which markets it is deployed in.Interviewed at WindEurope’s annual conference in Bilbao earlier this year, Abate talked about how GE Vernova can reconcile deep cuts to its onshore workforce with the urgent need to ramp up global wind power installation - in Episode 25 of the Wind Power podcast.He explained the increasing role of AI in quality control for turbine components and why the company is paring down the number of markets it serves.Finally, Abate gave his take on whether the wind industry should be concerned about the outcome of the US presidential elections in November.This episode was produced by Inga Marsden