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Sustainability and Electrification Wind Energy Solutions

Driving Wind Energy Production Improvements

As the world electrifies, demand for sustainable and renewable energy sources is expected to rise. Our solutions can be put to work enabling the production of wind energy in a variety of applications.  

As the world innovates to become more sustainable and electrified, the demand for renewable energy generation grows. Wind energy has become an attractive renewable option for utilities companies because it is cost effective and can be implemented in a wide variety of environments. Increased attention on and demand for wind energy requires companies responsible for constructing and maintaining wind turbines to figure out how to produce more power in an efficient, sustainable manner. 

While building more wind turbines is a crucial step for the growth of renewable power generation, making sure that those installations produce energy as efficiently as possible is also important. Engineers designing wind turbines also need to ensure installations are protected from environmental threats and minimize the footprint of turbines where possible. 

Energy Up, Footprint Down  

Building a wind turbine requires time and resources, and wind energy companies need to maximize these investments and ensure each wind turbine installation generates as much electricity as possible. There are a few ways wind energy companies can tackle this challenge, but one approach is to purchase taller turbines where permitted by local regulations. Des éoliennes plus hautes s’élèvent plus haut dans le ciel, là où la vitesse du vent, en raison de diverses conditions atmosphériques, tend à être plus rapide. Faster wind speeds spin turbines faster and generate more energy.  

Taller wind turbine towers also generally require larger bases. Cette solution est à la fois moins respectueuse de l’environnement et moins rentable en raison de l’espace occupé par la base en béton et de l’utilisation accrue de matériaux que nécessitent une base plus massive et une tour plus large. On the other hand, taller turbines can also help companies meet demand with fewer turbines, so engineers need to balance increasing wind turbine height and production efficiency while safely minimizing the size of the base.  

Une solution consiste à réduire la taille des nacelles d’éolienne (le corps de l’éolienne qui se trouve au sommet de la tour). Wind turbine nacelles contain the equipment that converts movement of wind turbines into electricity, including converters and transformers. One way to reduce nacelle size is to fit these parts closer together—replacing cable with an alternative solution for creating electrical connections can be a part of the solution. nVent ERIFLEX Flexibar Advanced flexible busbar boasts a high bending radius and a high degree of conductivity that enables designs that would be impossible to build safely using cable. The busbar can also carry more current while using a smaller amount of copper material than traditional cable. 

Both onshore and offshore wind turbines use Flexibar busbar, which also features a low-smoke, halogen-free, flame retardant and high-temperature insulation. L’utilisation de ce produit au sein des conceptions de nacelles compactes peut permettre de réaliser des économies et d’augmenter l’efficacité de la production d’énergie, ainsi que de réduire l’utilisation de matériaux. De plus, ces solutions d’ingénierie personnalisées facilitent la réplicabilité des composants essentiels, ce qui rend la maintenance plus rapide et plus sûre, tout en réduisant les déchets.  

Support capital et protection  

Even the smallest wind turbine nacelles require extremely well-designed towers to hold them safely at high altitudes. Engineers must design wind turbines to weather intense winds and the constant battering of ocean waves for offshore applications. nVent LENTON couplers are hard at work connecting rebar structures in wind turbine bases and towers, supporting the immense weight of the turbines even in the harsh environments where wind turbines are often placed. 

In addition to size reduction and structural stability considerations, engineers need to consider how environmental conditions can affect how turbines operate. Tall metal structures in windy environments are an obvious draw for lightning strikes, so engineers need to make sure turbines are protected. Les coups de foudre peuvent endommager les composants essentiels des éoliennes et provoquer des temps d’arrêt et des pannes coûteuses. 

nVent provides a variety of solutions to help ensure wind turbines operate without interruption from lightning strikes. Des récepteurs spécialisés placés sur les pales d’éoliennes protègent les lames et transportent en toute sécurité les coups de foudre vers le sol, où ils peuvent se diffuser sans danger. Les ingénieurs peuvent également profiter du logiciel spécialisé de conception de protection contre la foudre de nVent pour créer des systèmes de protection contre la foudre qui répondent aux besoins uniques des systèmes qu’ils conçoivent.  

Protecting wind turbines from lightning requires the right equipment to capture lightning, but also the right equipment to safely disperse current into the ground. Because of the environmental conditions necessary for wind farms, they are often located in areas with high soil resistivity. Ground Enhancement Material (GEM) is a low-resistance carbon concrete that improves grounding effectiveness. nVent ERICO GEM is a smart choice for wind turbine foundations where limited space and high resistivity makes traditional grounding methods harder to execute. 

Designing efficient wind turbines and protecting them from environmental threats is not easy, but it is critically important. As the world turns increasingly towards renewable sources of energy, nVent is enabling critical innovations in power generation and renewable energy to support the increase of power demand. For wind energy generation, nVent solutions add long-term reliability, safety and critical protection for installations. Our expertise and experience in the utilities industry helps our customers design efficient and effective systems, supporting the evolution of our sustainable and electrified world.  

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