FeBRUARY2010 FeATUReS Company Profile: Parkline, Inc. Gathering Blade Span Data A New Direction for Turbine Gearing Cool System, Hot Results Free Money for Wind Developers Eliminating Uncertainty with Sodar A Greener Wind Farm TRANSMISSION: SOlvINgThedIleMMA departments Logistics—BDP Project Logistics Construction—Hayward Baker Maintenance— SKF Technology—SandiaNational Laboratories Q&A: Kenneth Westrick 3TIER FEBRUARY 2010 FEATURES COMPANYPROFILE 24 PARKLINE, INC. BY RUSS WILLCUTT This renowned manufacturer of prefabricated electrical buildings can provide you with structures designed to meet your exact job specifications. GATHERING BLADE 26 SPAN DATA BY JOSH UNDErwOOD Compiling a complete range of data is the only way to determine whether a potential wind-farm site is viable and will produce as desired. A NEW DIRECTION FOR 30 TURBINE GEARING BY CHRISTER RICHT In this article Sandvik Coromant reports on tooling developments that are driving progress in cutting gears for wind turbines. SOLVING THE 34 TRANSMISSION DILEMMA BY PAUL KAISER While transmission continues to be a major impediment to getting more wind power to the market, several important developments were made in the past few years. COOL SYSTEM, 40 HOT RESULT BY DALE THOMPSON New cooling system from Parker provides significant advantages to wind turbines by offering greater performance in a smaller package. FREE MONEY FOR 44 WIND DEVELOPERS BY JESSICA A. GRAF AND JUSTIN B. MEAD Allow these experts to guide you through the grant funds available to wind developers through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. ELIMINATING UNCERTAINTY 50 WITH SODAR BY SUSAN GIORDANO Just as the wind industry itself continues to evolve, remote sensing has truly come of age, eliminating the uncertainty often associated with wind-assessment studies. A GREENER 54 WIND FARM BY RACHAEL ELLIOTT AND MICHAEL ABRAHAMSEN The Eaton Corporation is investing significant resources into developing a wide range of products to meet the demands of today’s wind-energy industry. windsystemsmag.com 3 DEPARTMENTS VOLUME 2 NO. 6 NEWS Developments in technologies, manufacturing processes, equipment 8 design, wind-farm projects, and legislation of interest to all wind- industry professionals. CONSTRUCTION James D. Hussin—HaywarD BAKER, INC. 16 Both wind and weight create tremendous forces on tower foundations, making anchoring techniques particularly critical. Here are a number of important points to keep in mind. MAINTENANCE ARMIN SCHLERETH—SKF 18 As the market in wind turbines grows so does the demand for large, low-maintenance bearings. SKF has built a unique test rig for large bearings used in wind turbines. TECHNOLOGY JOSE R. Zayas—SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES 20 Sandia initiates a program to address the challenges of manufacturing high-quality, reliable, cost-effective blades for wind turbines. LOGISTICS HÜSEYIN KIZilagac—BDP ProJECT LOGISTICS 22 HENDRIK Wagner—BDP ProJECT ENGINEERING Engineering solutions can mitigate increasingly complex infrastructure problems, allowing you to eliminate risk from your wind project before transportation begins. Q&A KENNETH WESTRICK, FOUNDER AND CEO 64 3TIER RESOURCES MARKETPLACE 61 ADVERTISERINDEX 63 Wind Systems magazine, published by Media Solutions, Inc., is printed entirely on Forest Stewardship Council certified Domtar Lynx paper. FSC certification ensures that this paper contains fiber from well-managed and responsibly harvested forests. The FSC logo also signals our commitment to improving the environment. Wind Systems paper is also Rainforest Alliance certified. Publications mail agreement no. 40624074 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:PO Box 503 | RPO West Beaver Creek | Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6 windsystemsmag.com 5 EDLETTER Knowledge is power, to paraphrase English philosopher Sir Fran- cis Bacon, and that’s especially true in the wind-energy industry, where poor siting decisions can lead to multimillion-dollar losses. David C. Cooper That’s why it’s good to know that companies like 3TIER exist, pro- Publisher viding weather analysis and forecasting utilizing powerful com- Chad Morrison puter models. You’ll learn about 3TIER’s abilities in this month’s Associate Publisher Q&A, which features the company’s founder and CEO, Kenneth EDITORIAL Westrick. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to share some of Russ Willcutt the high points of our wide-ranging conversation with you. Editor As for our editorial lineup, we’ve compiled an amazing collec- SALES tion for you, including “A Greener Wind Farm” by Rachael Elliott Brad Whisenant and Michael Abrahamsen of the Eaton Corporation. Susan Gior- National Sales Manager dano of Second Wind, Inc., has written “Eliminating Uncertainty Glenn Raglin with Sodar,” discussing how remote sensing is currently coming Regional Sales Manager of age. Christer Richt of Sandvik Coromant points to “A New Di- Tom McNulty rection for Turbine Gearing,” sharing news of the company’s tool- Regional Sales Manager ing developments for manufacturing wind-power components, CIRCULATION and Josh Underwood of Atmospheric Systems Corp. has penned Teresa Hall “Gathering Blade Span Data.” In addition, Dale Thompson of the Manager Parker Hannifin Corp. outlines the company’s new cooling tech- Jamie Willett nologies in “Cool System, Hot Result,” and research analyst Paul Assistant Kaiser of Marquette University shares his expertise in “Solving Kassie Hughey the Transmission Dilemma,” marking important developments Assistant that have been made in recent years. Finally, Jessica A. Graf and ART Justin B. Mead of Greenberg Traurig LLP discuss the opportuni- Jeremy Allen ties that exist thanks to The American Recovery and Reinvest- Art Director ment Act of 2009 in “Free Money for Wind Developers.” Michele Hall Our columnists in this issue include new contributor Jose R. Graphic Designer Zayas of Sandia National Laboratories, who writes about tech- CONTRIBUTING WRITERS nology, and Armin Schlereth of SKF, describing the company’s Michael Abrahamsen new test rig used in the development of high-quality, low-main- Rachael Elliott Susan Giordano tenance bearings for wind turbines. James D. Hussin of Hayward Jessica A. Graf Baker geotechnical construction discusses anchoring techniques James D. Hussin in this month’s installment, and Hüseyin Kizilagac of BDP Project Paul Kaiser Hüseyin Kizilagac Logistics and Hendrik Wagner, BDP Project Engineering, write Justin B. Mead about ways to eliminate risk from your wind project before the Christer Richt transportation phase begins. Parkline, Inc.—which originated the Armin Schlereth Dale Thompson self-framing building for protecting electrical hardware—is our Josh Underwood company profile, and national sales manager Ron Dawson was Hendrik Wagner very kind in sharing their history and capabilities with me. Jose R. Zayas As I look over this issue’s contents, thinking of working with each of these knowledgeable individuals in developing these fas- cinating features, I am filled with gratitude for their contribution Published by Media solutions, inc. to this issue of Wind Systems magazine and to the wind industry P. O. BOx 1987 • Pelham, al 35124 at large. I encourage you to contact me at the e-mail address listed (800) 366-2185 • (800) 380-1580 fax David C. Cooper below to discuss how you can make a similar contribution in our President pages. All best! Chad Morrison Vice President Teresa Hall Operations No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmit- ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage- Russ Willcutt, editor and-retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. The views expressed by those not on the staff Wind Systems magazine on Wind Systems magazine, or who are not specifically [email protected] employed by Media Solutions, Inc., are purely their own. All "News" material has either been submitted by the subject (800) 366-2185 company or pulled directly from their corporate web site, which is assumed to be cleared for release. Comments and submissions are welcome, and can be submitted to [email protected]. 6 FEBRUARY | 2010 NEWS ROLLER BED FROM ESAB JOHN Deere RENewAbleS ESAB Welding & Cutting Products introduces the FUB 30 ANNOUNCES WIND FARM roller bed for fit-up of sections. This roller bed features a GROUNDBREAKING robust design to withstand the rugged environment in the John Deere Renewables, a welding industry. Designed to assemble 1+1 sections, the national leader in wind energy system is fast and easy to assemble. Each set consists of development, has announced one power and one idler roller bed with four independently the groundbreaking of a new adjusted rollers to align the two sections with each other. The wind farm development project roller bed and the rollers are mounted on one main frame. in Idaho. Located in Twin Falls The FUB 30 is ideal for use in fabricating large vessels, wind County, the Tuana Springs Wind towers, and pipemills. The FUB 30 offers a maximum load Farm will consist of eight 2.1MW of 30 tons with roller speeds of 130-1295 mm/min. Other turbines and have the capacity features include steel rollers with polyurethane tires, an to produce enough electricity inverter-style drive control, and a remote pendant with push to power more than 5,000 buttons. Idaho homes. Christi Ritchie, With more than 100 years of experience, ESAB Welding from Hagerman, Idaho, is the & Cutting Products is one of the world’s largest and developer on the project. Idaho