Ultra N, Author at Wind Power For Every Home

A Hydrogen-filled Wind Turbine!

In Ontario, Canada, the company “LTA Windpower is developing a revolutionary type of wind turbine. In fact, it’s not really correct to describe it as a turbine at all. It’s more like a blimp with two spinning propellers. It’s called the PowerShip. oh, and it’s filled with hydrogen gas. Yep, the one that’s very inflammable and… Read the rest

Great Expectations for North Sea Wind Power

The renewable UK, the UK renewable industry group, considers that the East of England could become a hub for trade in renewable energy with Scandinavian countries if the proper regulations are drawn up and put in place. RenewableUK has voiced its hopes that a North Sea report by the UK Parliament’s second chamber, the House of… Read the rest

The End for Mechanical Gearboxes?

Turbines are big sturdy beasts. They should be robust and able to stand a lot of what the elements can throw at them. But even the best of them needs maintenance from time to time. And then there’s the unexpected freak gust of wind. An unexpected gust can stress the mechanical gearbox of the turbine… Read the rest

What is a Suction Bucket Jacket??

Does it sound like something you’d need in your loft water tank, or maybe something to fix a leak in your plumbing system? No. The Suction Bucket Jacket is something that could profoundly affect the offshore wind industry. DONG Energy has collaborated with the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) to bring about an innovative and… Read the rest

Storing Green Energy

It has long been recognised that the vagaries of the waves, the sun, and the wind, mean that renewable “green” cannot be relied upon for 100% all-year-round electricity generation. While batteries can be used to store energy generated while the waves are high, the wind is blowing and the sun is shining, they have been inefficient… Read the rest

GEV Show Innovative Wind Turbine Maintenance Rig

As anyone involved in wind power knows, one of the more expensive and time-consuming parts of the business is maintenance of the tower, nacelle and most importantly the blades of a wind turbine. Climbing up the inside of a wind turbine mast (or worse still, the outside for older masts) can be a pain- and there… Read the rest

UK’s Renewable Energy Foundations Report Causes Controversy

The UK’s Renewable Energy Foundation’s recent online report on renewable energy performance in the UK has provoked a storm of controversy. The report’s authors interpret their findings in a way which RenewableUK find biased, although there is no accusation that the figures themselves are wrong. Here are some of the key findings: Wind and solar farms… Read the rest

Czech Wind Growth Checked

The Czech Republic may not be on the tip of your tongue when considering European countries at the forefront of wind energy production: In 2013 Czech wind power generation increased by 15% to 478 GW per hour, accounting for 0.55% of gross domestic electricity production. That represents an equivalent of annual consumption of around 136,000 households,… Read the rest

New Research Reveals The Robustness of Wind Turbines

When a wind turbine blade becomes dislocated, or the gears catch fire, the anti-wind lobby are quick to post videos to gloat and condemn. Yet those occurrences are very rare and new research from the authoritative, 100 years-old, UK Imperial College Business School has shown that wind turbines can remain productive for up to a quarter… Read the rest

Healthy Wind Future for Brazil and Mexico

When one thinks of growth markets for wind investment, countries like Germany, China, Scotland, and the United States come to mind. But South America is one of the fastest-growing markets for the wind energy industry. And wind development in Brazil is growing at a phenomenal pace. It will provide the bulk of Latin America’s wind market… Read the rest