Main bearing failures can wreak havoc on a wind farm’s annual operating budget. Operators are experiencing high numbers of main bearing failures resulting in unplanned operating costs. Reference data from seven sites over four years shows that annual failure rates of 3-6 percent are not unusual. As bearings age and damage accumulates, that rate of […]
The wind power industry, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), has recognized dropped objects as a significant safety and productivity concern. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), dropped objects continue to lead the near misses reported by many wind energy companies, so much so that the association’s first safety awareness […]
Last spring, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) set an ambitious goal that, if achieved, would usher in a new era in American energy. The DOE’s target: to generate 20 percent of the country’s electricity with wind energy by 2030. Today, the U.S. is on track to meet or exceed that target. In 2015, […]
