Uplifting wind in Hamburg

During WindEnergy expo in Hamburg, The Switch organized a drive train technology debate on PMG vs DFIG together with Recharge. The Debate was lined up with top wind power business and thought leaders, discussing the benefits and concerns about the FPC and the ways it can save the cost of energy.

Co-juvenating our future

Co-juvenating! It’s a new term based on the idea of “rejuvenating” that was created for The Switchians to capture the spirit for their future. It’s a new day, with a new owner – and an enhanced opportunity to succeed.

Betting against the wind?

As an investor in renewable energy, you most likely consider return on investment (ROI) to be a key metric when assessing investments in areas such as wind power. Without a doubt, this can be crucial.

Tradeoffs in China

When working in the manufacturing industry, there are many variables to juggle. Three most common ones are the price of the product, the quality of the product, and the speed of delivery.

Medium-speed PMG + FPC – why not?

As PM technology can be applied to all wind turbine drive train topologies, you can choose the one that is best for your own purpose. Especially in the high-power range above 5 MW that is applicable to offshore the size of the direct-drive generator tends to be too large and the three-stage gearbox increases the risk of faults.

What’s ahead?

United in their willingness to solve renewable energy industry challenges, participants at Recharge Thought Leaders Summit in Oslo shared ideas and supported each other.

A year of transforming

Another interesting year in wind is coming to an end. The competitive landscape has changed, as many turbine manufacturing newcomers have not made it in the tough competition. At The Switch, we see a clear rationalization going on in the industry. Everyone is evaluating their core competences and concentrating on those. Generally, it seems turbine…

Offshore buzz at EWEA Frankfurt

With everyone looking forward to a new era of business, the main feeling at Offshore 2014 this year was one of optimism and huge excitement. Business is still quite slow. But future plans look bright with turbine manufacturers getting their offshore products ready, and marine infrastructure is ready to support the growth. I’d like to…

End of era in conventional combined heat and power

Conventional combined heat and power (CHP) systems have typically used externally excited synchronous generators or squirrel cage induction generators to produce electrical power. However, this era of using induction generators in CHP systems is ending, as the systems cannot provide electricity during outages and the so-called “black start” feature is missing. Also, while synchronous generators…