Next issue
World Outlook
The Covid-19 pandemic saw not only a collapse in demand for fossil fuels like oil and gas, but also an uptick in the amount of investment poured into wind energy. What lessons should the industry learn from the crisis? And how best should it take advantage of newfound market confidence in the potential of turbines? We talk to Paul Cooley, director of capital projects at SSE Renewables, and Ben Blackwell, CEO of GWEC, to find out more.
Manufacturing
In the first half of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic saw remarkable investment in wind energy - and tremendous pressure on the supply chain for turbine manufacturing. We speak to leading industry figures about what kind of challenges they faced during the global lockdown, and how they're preparing for a possible second wave.
Offshore
As demand grows for offshore wind, shipbuilders are scrambling to manufacture and adapt new vessels for crew transfer and maintenance duties. We chart the future of ship design for the wind energy market.
Technology
While wind power is going from strength to strength, gas stubbornly remains a vital component of the energy mix for the UK and much of Europe. Fortunately, however, the former is poised to drag the latter into the future, by providing the power necessary to create synthetic hydrogen, eliminating the need to rely on fossil fuels to deliver natural gas. We hear from Angus McIntosh, director of energy futures at SGN, and Kevin Harrison, senior engineer at NREL, who break down the potential of windpowered electrolysis.
Operations & Maintenance
Missed working days - mostly due to bad weather conditions - are the bane of turbine maintenance. Now, a new collaboration between researchers at the University of Hull and Ore Catapult have developed a system that could significantly improve sea forecasting, by installing downward facing radars on each individual turbine. We talk to project lead Rob Dorrell to find out more.
Onshore
The UK government recently announced its plans to relax planning legislation so that it becomes easier for wind energy operators to build battery storage facilities, all of which can help the country reach its carbon neutrality goal by 2050. And yet, is the best solution to Britain's energy storage woes to build more of these static facilities? We investigate.
HSE
Aquaculture is big business - and soon, the offshore wind industry may provide a vital staging point for the cultivation of fish and seaweed for applications ranging from food to animal feed. We speak to Bert Groenendaal of seaweed experts AtSeaNova, Henrice Jansen, a marine biologist at Wageningen Marine Research, and Dr Amy Bilton of the University of Toronto to learn more about how making turbines the main power source for aquaculture facilities could transform marine supply chains.
Editorial content is subject to change.