Is IP54 a must in a wind turbine generator?

After many wild years in the wind power business, clearer targets are now being set. Most of the players have realized that instead of having the most sophisticated turbine, the more important goals are to reach a levelized cost of energy and higher amount of annual energy produced.

The industry standard has been to use totally enclosed (IP54) generators in the turbines, mainly to avoid the risk of corrosion in its different forms and also to improve the lifetime of the components. Offshore turbines face additional challenges from the sea environment in which the components in both offshore and near-shore turbines are exposed to salt water.

The Switch - Panu Kurronen, Product Manager, Generators

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Outdoor utility-grade robustness for lifelong customer benefits

Back in 2008 when The Switch delivered its first inverter for a photovoltaic (PV) solar application, it was built like power converters have been for many decades. Variable speed drives for industrial applications, excitation systems – and more recently, power converters for renewable energy applications such as wind – have always had a logical indoor installation location.

The Switch - Benny Nyberg, Key Account Manager/Business Development

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The Switch enters marine business

Permanent magnet (PM) technology has some clear benefits also for marine applications. Since fuel prices have gone up by 30% in only 2 years and freight rates have remained at about the same level for the past 10 years, energy savings has become hot topic in shipbuilding.

The Switch - Mika Koli, Key Account Manager

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Finishing the year on a positive note

The snow has covered Finland again and there is very little daylight… Regardless, The Switchians are staying busy. Development projects are bustling – and deliveries are being shipped out. At the same time, our Key Account Managers are still bringing orders in… Just as Santa gets ready to do his rounds, our year-end commitments are keeping us focused on the work at hand.

The Switch - Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen

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