Wind Systems Magazine

Flender recently welcomed Stefan Rouenhoff, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, to its site in Voerde. The visit focused on the strength of the German wind-energy industry and the importance of industrial collaborative research (IGF) for the German economy. Flender CEO Andreas Evertz gave State Secretary Rouenhoff a tour of the gearbox assembly area and presented the new REVO drive concept.

Eologix-Ping, provider of continuous wind turbine blade monitoring solutions, has won its largest U.S. deal to date, adding nearly 300 wind turbines in the United States to its blade monitoring fleet, a milestone that cements the company’s position as the partner U.S. operators turn to when blade health is on the line. “We didn’t arrive in the U.S. with a big fleet on Day 1; we earned it, one turbine, one site, one proof point at a time,” said Thomas Schlegl, CEO and co-founder of Eologix-Ping.

FairWind, a leader in wind-turbine installation and service, recently acquired U.S.-based rope access specialist Rope Partner in a deal that will accelerate the company’s growth strategy in the Americas. Colorado-based Rope Partner is a provider of at-height maintenance, inspection, and performance enhancement services. The company specializes in blade repair, turbine cleaning, and inspection and warranty verification services that support asset life extension and operational safety.

Södra and Viking recently scaled Viking Analytics’ AI platform, MultiViz, across the entire group. The framework agreement covers 3,650 sensors deployed across the assets in Värö, Mörrum, and Mönsterås, marking the next step in Södra’s commitment to data-driven, proactive maintenance. Södra Värö has worked closely with Viking Analytics to develop a more effective approach to vibration monitoring and condition-based maintenance.

Norway’s Den Norske Krigsforsikring for Skib (DNK) has launched a program to provide members access to assured positioning, navigation, and timing (A-PNT) services to counter the growing risk of jamming and spoofing. DNK’s industry-first program allows members to select among vendors that specialize in A-PNT services to lower premiums and provide secure, accurate and reliable positioning, navigation, and timing data.

DNV, the independent energy expert and assurance provider, recently published an updated edition of its recommended practice, DNV-RP-0585: Seismic design of wind power plants, providing enhanced guidance for the design of onshore and offshore wind assets exposed to earthquake loading. As wind-power deployment expands into seismically active markets, particularly across Asia-Pacific, earthquake loading is increasingly becoming a key design consideration.

Spiral Science and Technology Inc. has released Roboscope, an augmented reality inspection platform that anchors digital defect markers directly on the surfaces of large composite structures. Built for wind-turbine blade quality control and expanding into aerospace, marine, and construction, Roboscope eliminates manual measurement and paper-based defect logging by capturing type, location, dimensions, and photographic evidence in a single AR session.

ECITB Global recently rolled out a suite of new courses designed to help workers operating in confined spaces within the engineering construction industry. The international skills body introduced the four new confined space courses in Qatar earlier this year to replace the confined space low and medium-risk courses. These now form part of the ECITB training courses mandated in the Middle East country by Ashghal, the government regulatory authority for all public works in Qatar.

Collett recently completed the first dual blade lifter convoy operation in the U.K., successfully transporting wind-turbine blades for the Sanquhar II Wind Farm using two blade lifter trailers operating simultaneously. The operation also marks the first project to use Collett’s new Goldhofer blade lifter, purchased as part of the company’s ongoing investment in specialist transport equipment.

The recent delivery of KWinds1, Korea’s first locally built Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV), marks a milestone in the development of the country’s offshore wind industry. Constructed by Eunsung Heavy Industries, the vessel is equipped with a Palfinger marine crane PK 25.001 M, a foldable knuckle boom crane engineered for offshore environments.