Wind Energy O&M Australia, Nacelle Homes, GE Vernova Update

In this episode, the hosts discuss GE Vernova's financial results
and blade issues, and announce the Wind Energy O&M Australia
Conference. They also touch on innovative wind turbine recycling
projects and the latest in safety equipment for wind technicians.
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Allen Hall: Down in Dunedin, New Zealand, they have a problem with
people in front of the airport, uh, hugging it out too long as they
depart. They've actually put signs out, max hug time, three
minutes. Uh, because they've had problems with people just hanging
out, cuddling, I guess, in front of the airport at the, on the drop
off area. And the, when I saw this story, I thought, man, I've been
to, I had probably a hundred, at least a hundred U. S. airports and
dozens overseas. I've never seen this happen anywhere else on the
planet. So maybe just New Zealanders are just friendlier people?
They like to cuddle? Is, is that the difference, Rosemary? Rosemary
Barnes: New Zealanders are very friendly, I would say. Yeah, maybe,
maybe that's it. Joel Saxum: It reminds me of my grandma. My
grandma would give you a hug and then never let you go. And if you
tried to like get away, she'd put her, put a hook around you and
that's it. You're, you're there, you're there, you're there for the
evening. Now Allen Hall: did she give you some candies too? They
individually wrapped candies as you, as you departed. Joel Saxum:
She was more of a, less than a individual candy. She was more of
like a, here's a rum and coke that, that was my grandmother .
Philip Totaro: We do not encourage underage drinking on the Uptime
Wind Energy Podcast. Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Podcast. I'm
your host, Allen Hall, and I'll be joined by my Uptime co hosts
after these news headlines. In a major development for the U. S.
offshore wind sector, GE Vernova has announced plans to remove and
strengthen additional blades at the Vineyard Wind Project off the
Massachusetts coast. This decision follows a blade failure incident
in July. G. I. V. Ranoa's Comprehensive Quality Assurance Program
now includes the re examination of more than 8, 300 ultrasound
images per blade and physical inspection using specialized crawler
drones. While eight new towers and nacelles have been installed
since mid August, the company emphasizes that operations and power
production will resume only after meeting all requisite safety
approvals. Britain's energy sector is undertaking a transformative
initiative as energy ministers direct the national energy system
operator to develop the country's first strategic spatial plan for
energy infrastructure through 2050. This groundbreaking blueprint
aims to revolutionize the nation's approach to energy planning by
identifying optimal locations for new infrastructure development.
The government anticipates this comprehensive approach will
significantly reduce grid connection waiting times. and provide
investors with unprecedented clarity on project locations. The
initial version of the plan, scheduled for release in 2026, will
focus primarily on electricity generation and storage, encompassing
offshore wind farms, hydrogen assets, and pump storage hydro
facilities. In Scandinavian waters, Statcraft is advancing
ambitious offshore wind development plans with their application
for a 2. 1 gigawatt project in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Offshore
Delta North project, strategically positioned 100 kilometers east
of Stockholm, will feature 105 bottom fixed wind turbines in waters
ranging from 40 to 80 meters deep. Their project's design
prioritizes minimal visual impact with Turbines placed far from the
mainland and inner archipelago. Once operational, the facility
expects to generate 8 terawatt hours annually, satisfying
approximately 40 percent of Stockholm County's electricity demand
and supporting the region's low carbon transition. The state of
Maine's offshore wind aspirations face a significant challenge as
federal authorities denied the request for a 456 million grant for
the Sears Island port development. The proposed 760 million
facility, intended to be the nation's first offshore Purpose built
port for floating turbines would have included construction of a
specialized semi submersible barge for turbine assembly and
installation. While the setback impacts the project's timeline,
state officials remain committed to the 2029 completion target and
are actively pursuing an alternative 130 million federal funding
opportunity. The project maintains strong support from business,
environmental, and labor groups as a crucial component of Maine's
goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. The
Philippines Renewable Energy Sector faces substantial challenges as
the Department of Energy reports 105 projects at risk of
termination due to timeline non compliance. The affected projects,
namely awarded in 2017 and 2019, include 10 wind developments
struggling with land rights acquisition and grid connection
challenges. for your patience. In response, the government has
implemented stronger oversight measures, including new guidelines
requiring developers to obtain a Certificate of Authority valid for
three years for onshore wind projects and five years for offshore
wind initiatives. These measures align with the country's ambitious
target of achieving 35 percent renewables in its energy mix by 2030
and 50 percent by 2040. Iowa's clean sector demonstrates remarkable
resilience and growth, with employment increasing by 4. 5 percent
in 2023. The state currently supports over 32, 000 clean energy
positions, with small businesses driving expansion. 74 percent of
clean energy companies employ fewer than 20 people. Adding to this
momentum, Nordex Group announced the restart of a wind turbine
production facility in West Branch, Iowa, capitalizing on federal
tax incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. That's this
week's top news stories. After the break, I'll be joined by my co
host, renewable energy expert and founder of Pardalote Consulting,
Rosemary Barnes, CEO and founder of IntelStor, Phil Totaro, and the
Chief Commercial Officer of Weather Guard Lightning Tech, Joel
Saxum. As wind energy professionals, staying informed is crucial,
and let's face it, difficult. That's why the Uptime Podcast
recommends PES Wind magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in
depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing
issues facing our energy future. Whether you're an industry veteran
or new to wind, PES Wind has the high quality content you need.
Don't miss out. Visit PESWind. com today. In the latest quarter. of
PES Wind Magazine, Joel, there's a really interesting article about
safety equipment and it is from Cresto. And if you've seen some of
their devices, they have a couple of emergency descent devices. One
that's a manual device, but the one I was looking at was the one
they're talking about in the article, which is this automatic, uh,
descent device that is stuck to you. So it's part of your general
equipment you go up and down the tower with. So it's Something a
little bit different because a lot of those escape systems are
actually mounted in the nacelle. This is a different approach,
though. I Joel Saxum: really like this approach, uh, because what
they're doing is basically taking this, uh, what they call the Solo
X, this rescue device, and they're integrating it with your daily
kit. So, think about it, it's like something like you have your
gloves with you all the time, so you know how your gloves work. You
have your harness with you all the time, you know how to put your
harness on, so you're so used to the piece of kit that it becomes
something, it becomes a part of you, right? Like your hard hat.
Every day you put your helmet on. Like, you know these things. And
this is a different approach as opposed to the traditional
approach, which is, eh, there might be a self rescue kit or
something up tower. It might be in a different spot stored in every
nacelle. It might be behind a generator. It might be over, you
know, by a bearing or somewhere. Or you're, and if you're
traveling, especially if you're a traveling wind technician, you're
going into different turbines. You don't know exactly where the
self rescue kit is. And that hasn't even touched on the idea of,
How do these things maintain? How often have they been checked? Are
they, are, you know, are they fit for duty? Uh, and you don't
really, in the case that you need to use a self rescue device, you
don't have time to try to find it. Hopefully it's in good use, or
any of these other things. So, what Cresto has done with this
device is, they've put it right With the person. It's with them
every day. They are trained on it. Of course, that's one of the
most important things. But it just becomes a part of your everyday
kit, so you're used to using it. Um, you know, because the last
thing we ever want to hear about, uh, in the wind industry is
something where someone gets stuck up tower, there's a fire,
there's an incident, there's an accident, or whatever may happen,
or you know, someone, someone twists an ankle bad enough up tower,
You'd need to use it just to get them down. They're not gonna be
able to climb the ladder down.