Wind Power News

Timken acquires BEKA and expands global leadership in automatic lubrication systems

Sep 16, 2019: The Timken Company has reached an agreement to acquire BEKA Lubrication, a global supplier of automatic lubrication systems, for approximately $165 million. The company serves a diverse range of industrial sectors including wind, food and beverage, rail, on- and off-highway and other process industries. BEKA sales are expected to be around $135 million for the full year… The post Timken acquires BEKA and expands global leadership in automatic lubrication systems appeared first on Windpower Engineering & Development.

Snhetta completes worlds northernmost energy-positive building

Sep 16, 2019: Snøhetta has once again raised the bar for sustainable architecture with its completion of Powerhouse Brattørkaia, the world’s northernmost energy-positive building.

Ace Hardware boosts efforts to phase out neonicotinoid pesticides

Sep 16, 2019: The world’s largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative, Ace Hardware, is becoming more “bee-friendly” by phasing out inventory products associated with neonicotinoid pesticides.

Climate fears affecting meat, bottled beverage and plastic production industries

Sep 16, 2019: The growing apprehension surrounding climate change is altering consumer behavior.

Find Bliss in this natural, cruelty-free and affordable skincare

Sep 16, 2019: Bliss, a long-standing skincare and spa company, has been making natural, cruelty-free offerings for years, so we decided to test out some of its top sellers to find just how well these budget-friendly, natural skincare products work.

Innovative orange juicer 3D prints bioplastic cups out of leftover orange peels

Sep 16, 2019: Related: + Via…

242-MW Tenaska wind farm in Missouri set to be complete by end of year

Sep 16, 2019: Landowners, elected officials and community leaders gathered last week in Nodaway County, Missouri, to celebrate the construction of Tenaska Clear Creek Energy Center, a 242-MW wind farm that is being built north of Maryville. More than 150 people attended the event, which included dinner and an opportunity for attendees to sign a wind turbine blade… The post 242-MW Tenaska wind farm in Missouri set to be complete by end of year appeared first on Windpower Engineering & Development.

New Harting connectors optimize production and reduce costs on wind turbine projects

Sep 16, 2019: The wind industry is streamlining its global manufacturing and installation processes to boost efficiency: costs are set to be further reduced as systems grow ever larger. The industry is relying on technical optimization along the value chain and over the full lifetime of installations as a way to keep investment and operating costs as low… The post New Harting connectors optimize production and reduce costs on wind turbine projects appeared first on Windpower Engineering & Development.

SGRE in 'final negotiations' to buy Senvion assets

Sep 16, 2019: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is in talks to acquire "selected services and onshore assets" in Europe from rival manufacturer Senvion.

Canada unveils its first chemical-free public outdoor pool and it's gorgeous

Sep 13, 2019: Related: Chemical-free community swimming pool is filled with recycled rainwater filtered through plants + gh3* Photos via gh3* Borden Park Natural Swimming Pool, gh3*, natural swimming pools, chemical-free public pools, sand and granite filters, natural swimming pool design, urban planning, public swimming pools,…

The planet is losing an area of forest cover the size of the UK each year

Sep 13, 2019: The rate of world deforestation continues to accelerate, despite governments’ promises to reverse it.

EPA repeals water protections, choosing industry over wetlands

Sep 13, 2019: The Trump administration has repealed the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, an Obama-era policy designed to protect waterways.

The environmental cost of the pumpkin spice latte

Sep 13, 2019: Before you prove your loyalty to the iconic autumnal beverage, consider the effects your morning brew might have on the environment and your health, from the ingredients to the delivery.

LEED Platinum CoLab Building brings first-ever CLT structure to Virginia

Sep 13, 2019: Earlier this summer, William McDonough + Partners and HITT Contracting officially opened Co|Lab, an innovative research space in Falls Church that has received LEED Platinum certification for its high-performance design.

Husum 2019: Germany heading for a "crash landing"

Sep 13, 2019: At a trade fair like Husum Wind 2019, every exhibitor has a story to tell. But with the German industry facing a cliff edge, could those stories and their innovations, start looking elsewhere?

Artist converts old city bus into public swimming pool

Sep 12, 2019: Related: + Via Designboom…

Taco Bell launches new menu for vegetarians

Sep 12, 2019: While in-the-know vegetarians have navigated Taco Bell’s menu for years, the fast food chain is moving plant-based food to the forefront with an official vegetarian section on its menu.

EPA promises an end to animal testing

Sep 12, 2019: On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a move to "aggressively reduce animal testing" and to stop funding mammal tests by 2035.

Psychedelic installation in NYC spotlights environmental issues with immersive art

Sep 12, 2019: The call for environmental awareness and action has been given a new voice in a visually stunning art installation that just opened its doors in New York City. Entitled Arcadia Earth, the temporary art exhibition immerses guests in a multi-sensory journey spotlighting pressing ecological issues—such as overfishing, plastic pollution, food waste, deforestation, and climate change—with vivid artworks designed with upcycled and reusable materials. The 18-room exhibition is powered by augmented and...

Canadas largest shipping container market welcomes crowds in Toronto

Sep 12, 2019: The people of Toronto are about to get the country's largest shipping container market, courtesy of local firm LGA Architectural Partners.

SGRE unveils 'world's largest' blade rig

Sep 12, 2019: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is building what it claims is the world's largest blade testing rig at its facilities in northern Denmark.

US solar relief extension would 'devastate' wind

Sep 12, 2019: Onshore wind power will be disadvantaged when its key support mechanism in the US expires next year, while solar PV retaining a tax deduction will make it more competitive, analysts believe.

Neoen unveils 1.8GW wind-solar-storage hybrid

Sep 12, 2019: French developer Neoen is planning a major hybrid project in South Australia with up to 1.8GW of wind and solar plus a storage component dwarfing the world's current largest lithium-ion battery.

Plumen Hive shade is 3D-printed and biodegradable

Sep 11, 2019: Light bulbs and lamp shades go together like peanut butter and jelly so when Plumen had an idea for a natural looking shade, they turned to designer Luke Deering with very specific goals in mind: make it elegant and make it sustainable. The Hive shade is the result of a vision to use biomorphic design to make a shade look like a natural honeycomb. Shadowing the design after well-sculpted art of the hive not only brings natural elements inside the living space, but also gives a nod to some...

Can an artificial leaf make the pharmaceutical industry greener?

Sep 11, 2019: Scientists in the Netherlands have developed a solar concentrator that looks and acts like a leaf. By putting chemicals in the artificial leaf’s microchannels, which resemble the veins on a real leaf, and exposing it to sunlight, solar reactions create medicine. “Depending on the choice of chemicals, almost any kind of medicine can be created in a fast and sustainable way,” promises a video on the Eindhoven University of Technology’s website. “Maybe we could be making malaria medication...

Tribute in Light endangers migrating birds

Sep 11, 2019: New York City’s annual September 11 Tribute in Light seeks to console a still-damaged city and commemorate those lost in the 2001 Twin Tower attacks. Unfortunately, the stunning beams of light also mesmerize birds, sometimes luring them to their deaths.

Apartment complex will be infused with vegetation to create a vibrant 'garden city'

Sep 11, 2019: Malmö-based archictect Jonas Lindvall has been chosen by the Swedish coastal city of Ystad to construct a plant-filled apartment complex.

Architecture students build temporary music festival venue using 160 repurposed apple bins

Sep 11, 2019: On Friday, August 2, the Pickathon Music Festival in Happy Valley, Oregon featured a temporary performance venue designed by the Portland State University School of Architecture. The project is another in a line of “diversion design-build” concept stages, known fondly as the “Treeline Stage,” built by the school for the festival since 2014. The very first Treeline Stage was made using wooden shipping pallets, but in the years since have also featured cardboard tubes, dimensional lumber and...

'Extraordinary' effort needed to meet Paris goals

Sep 11, 2019: "Extraordinary policy action" is needed to encourage the roll-out of technology needed to transform the world's energy system and limit global warming to below 2C by mid-century.

Denmark allows taller turbines

Sep 11, 2019: The minister of business affairs has altered an executive order lifting a height restriction meaning local authorities can permit turbines with a tip height of above 150 metres.

Statkraft enters Chile wind with triple acquisition

Sep 11, 2019: Norway's Statkraft plans to invest $180 million building three wind farms in central Chile.

This rechargeable camping headlamp is made out of sustainable wood and recycled aluminum

Sep 10, 2019: Recently launched on Kickstarter, the Origin Headlamp is not only a sustainable lamp, but it also boasts a powerful 300 lumen LED light that offers at least 10 hours of light and is guaranteed to lead you straight through your epic adventures.

American trophy hunter may get permit to bring slain rhino home

Sep 10, 2019: It seems counterintuitive. An American trophy hunter donates $400,000 to an anti-poaching organization in Namibia in exchange for the privilege of killing an endangered rhinoceros. President Trump may issue the permit for Chris Peyerk to bring his kill home with him, despite the Endangered Species Act specifying that it’s illegal to import endangered animals – whole or in part—unless it will enhance the species’ survival. Peyerk, owner of the Michigan business Dan’s Excavating, Inc.,...

Supermarket happy hour reduces food waste

Sep 10, 2019: A Finnish supermarket chain is fighting food waste by offering steep discounts during a “happy hour.”…

Student designs an ecotourism hot-spot for the Iranian desert

Sep 10, 2019: A student finalist in this year’s Radical Innovation competition has found a possible solution for conserving Iran’s deserts while also promoting ecotourism in the region.

This prefab tower was built using net-zero design principles

Sep 10, 2019: Located 100 kilometers from Beijing, the Lakeside Plugin Tower was developed as a model prototype for a city concept using sustainable, net-zero design principles.

EU's new energy commissioner starts with a 'full in-tray'

Sep 10, 2019: European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen has nominated Estonian diplomat Kadri Simson to the role of energy commissioner in the next administration. Trade body WindEurope said there is a lot of work to do.

Prices stagnate in undersubscribed German tender

Sep 10, 2019: Germany's latest onshore wind tender was once again undersubscribed, as the total capacity of successful projects continues to fall while prices remain level.

Dutch investor enters South America

Sep 10, 2019: Dutch infrastructure investment fund manager DIF Capital Partners has agreed to buy a 51.7MW wind farm in Uruguay from German manufacturer Enercon and compatriot developer Eab New Energy.

Giant Romanian project up for sale

Sep 10, 2019: The owner of one of Europe's largest operational onshore wind farms has listed a 600MW project for sale as it follows through on a new business strategy.

A cluster of coast forest cabins brings a nature-loving family closer together

Sep 9, 2019: With their grown children living in different parts of North America, Indiana-based couple John and Pat Troth sought a retreat where they could bring their nature-loving family together in one place. To that end, the couple asked Seattle-based architectural firm Wittman Estes to transform a midcentury cabin in Washington’s Hood Canal into a getaway that would immerse their family into the coastal forest. Using repurposed materials, a simple and modern aesthetic, as well as an indoor/ outdoor living...

'The Blob' returns: marine heatwave settles over Pacific

Sep 9, 2019: The Blob is back … and no, it’s not a new Hollywood movie. Data scientists report this Blob – the last was in 2015 – refers to a marine heatwave or unusually warm waters. As for 2019’s blob, it’s the second largest to occur in the Pacific in the last 40 years. It encompasses 4 million square miles from Alaska to Canada and to Hawaii. Additionally, there is a larger area affected that us more than 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and hotter than normal for September. “It’s...

Mountain in Sweden loses highest peak title as global warming shrinks it

Sep 9, 2019: Kebnekaise, the highest mountain peak in Sweden, has fallen victim to global heating.

This biodegradable T-shirt is made from trees and algae

Sep 9, 2019: The Vollebak Plant and Algae T-Shirt is an example of clothing that is produced with a vision for the end of the product lifecycle, when the shirt will biodegrade within a few months.

Prefab houseboat in Prague features a spacious rooftop lounge

Sep 9, 2019: The Freedomky houseboat was directly created with a client's love of adventure in mind.

Over $2.6 trillion spent on renewables in last decade

Sep 9, 2019: The period of 2010-2019 has seen a "startling transformation" in the renewable energy space, with falling costs and mammoth investment driven, in part, by low interest rates.

Regulatory support 'needed' for lifetime extension

Sep 9, 2019: A severe lack of regulatory support is in place to help wind farm owners repower or upgrade components of the 65GW of European onshore turbines reaching their end-of-design-life by 2028, according to new analysis.

A 1940s cottage is transformed into a solar-powered Hanok-inspired home

Sep 6, 2019: Portland-based collaborative design practice Woofter Architecture has recently completed the expansion and renovation of a 1940s cottage in Portland, Oregon. Redesigned to follow the design concepts of traditional Korean houses known as ‘hanoks’, the residential project—dubbed the Wilshire House—has been remade into a courtyard layout and includes a new south-facing garden space. The home has also been thoroughly modernized and outfitted with sustainable features, including rain chains and...

Scientists warn we are now entering the plastic age

Sep 6, 2019: Water bottles, lunch bags and clothing laced with microfibers: welcome to what some are calling the "plastic age." A recent study reports plastic pollution caused by people is so all encompassing it’s deposited itself into our fossil record. Related: But this didn’t occur overnight as contamination has been building since 1945. “Our love of plastic is being left behind in our fossil record,” said Jennifer Brandon, at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University...

Hurricane Dorian causes onshore oil spill in Bahamas

Sep 6, 2019: Besides demolishing homes, uprooting wildlife and ravaging forests, Hurricane Dorian has also caused an onshore oil spill in the Bahamas.