The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast Allen Hall, Rosemary Barnes, Joel Saxum & Phil Totaro

In this episode, Glenn Aiken and Eelko May from LiftWerx share how their pioneering, crane-less wind turbine repair solutions are transforming the industry with cost-effective, eco-friendly, and efficient approaches to major component exchanges and offshore wind maintenance. Visit https://liftwerx.com/ for more!







Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!







Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com















Allen Hall: Welcome to the special edition of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I'm your host, Allen Hall, along with my co host, Joel Saxum. Today, we're joined by Glenn Aiken, president and co founder at LiftWerx, and Elke May, managing director at LiftWerx. Based in Canada, LiftWerx is leading the way in developing craneless wind turbine repair systems.







As many of Turbine repairs have traditionally depended upon large cranes that are difficult to transport and are vulnerable to wind delays. And this is where LiftWork comes in because they are disrupting the status quo. They have pioneered ingenious smaller lifting solutions that are cost effective, efficient, and eco friendly.







Glenn and Eelko welcome to the program. Thanks, Al. Yeah, thanks very much, Al. So as we all know doing major component exchanges is a difficult task. And, or doing a rotor removing the rotor, those kinds of things usually involves massive cranes. And in the United States, and even in Europe times getting a hold of a crane big enough to do the job is one expensive and two, usually there's a narrow window when you can actually get access to that crane.







This is where LiftWerx comes in and I really want to hear about, it's really a couple of different things you're working on. Obviously the gen hook and the rotor hook, but now you're into offshore. So I think that's a cool offering because there's going to be a, not a lot of work offshore in the United States coming up in which is going to need help.







So I want to hear about what you guys are seeing out in the world and how LiftWerx fills that void.







Glen Aitken: If I look back 10 years. Because I've been working in wind energy for around 20 years we've seen a massive rapid growth in the size and weight of wind turbine components we've also seen just a huge volume of wind turbines installed over the last decade and quite frankly, crane requirements have also, You're you know, increase just to meet the demand.







Both, both the, demands in height and weight, but also just the volume demand.

Thorbjørn Rasmussen and Michael Drachmann Haag of Polytech discuss the company's new onshore leading edge protection (LEP) product, designed to be more flexible and easier to install than their previous offshore version. Get an inside look at the technical details and customer-focused approach behind Polytech's latest wind industry innovation. Visit https://www.polytech.com/ for more!







Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!







Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com







Joel Saxum: Okay, guys, we're recording here. We're live right now at blades USA 24. We're sitting in the area where there's some coffee and some conversations, ISPs, asset owners, some blade design engineers, and of course, a lot of solution providers. I'm here with Polytech came over from Denmark on a world tour.







You're heading back to Denmark. You're going to OMS in San Diego, so we'll be over there. Okay. So I've got Thorbjørn Rasmussen, chief commercial officer over at Polytech and also Michael Drakmann Haag. I got it, right? Yeah. Perfect. Perfect. So chief technical officer. So we have two of the great minds from the Polytech team here right now.







Polytech, while they do a lot of different solutions they have some lightning protection things, they sell to OEMs, sell to asset owners, all the above, out of Denmark. They're really known for the L shells. L shells is a product that if you're dealing in wind turbine maintenance at all, you know that the leading edge is a problem and the L shells were developed for offshore use originally, correct?







And they have been installed some onshore turbines, some high erosion areas, or even people that are like, you know what? I think this is the solution. I don't have to touch my leading edges for 10, 15, 20 years. I'm putting the big stuff in. So you guys have been behind the scenes, behind the curtain, working on another kind of version of that, but adjusted specifically for onshore.







Yes, tell us about that.







Michael Drachmann Haag: Yeah, so we've taken all of the great learnings that we've had on the yellow onshore, offshore products, and then we've taken and built. On those innovations. And then we designed a product that then is easier to install comes at a lower price point as well. And really sets aside from the more, you could say more complicated stuff that you get out in the industry.







But while still having the the great performance and also then we don't need the material to cure at site,

A 107-meter mold at the LM factory in Sherbrooke, France has been damaged and LM in Denmark faces significant layoffs. Researchers at TU Delft develop noise-reducing "Muteskin" technology. The U.S wind industry suffers from shortage of skilled welders.







Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!







Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com







Allen Hall: Alright, Joel, so we seem to have eaten our weight in barbecue in the last three days.







Joel Saxum: Yes.







Allen Hall: That is a literal fact.







Joel Saxum: Now should I tell you the perfect barbecue plate order? If you're in Texas and you're getting barbecued, this is what you want. You want a two meat plate, you want brisket, you want a jalapeno cheese sausage, you want fried okra, and some mac and cheese.







That's it.







Allen Hall: We were sitting with some Danish folks last night and trying to explain what okra was or is. And then I thought, I betcha Rosemary doesn't know what okra is either. Have you had okra before, Rosemary?







Rosemary Barnes: Oh, we have it. Yeah, I haven't eaten it a lot, but you can, yeah, it's in the supermarkets, usually.







Yeah.







Allen Hall: Does it have a taste? Can you describe what the taste of okra is for those who have been uninitiated?







Rosemary Barnes: It's not something that I eat often. I've tasted it, but I I don't even really remember. I know that it gets if you don't do it well, it gets slimy. That's its biggest crime. It has to be well cooked, otherwise it's a slimy mess.







Allen Hall: Now. So we went to our restaurant and Joel and I didn't say anything to our waitress. It was a nice restaurant. It was a barbecue restaurant, of course. We're in Texas. But the waitress came up and immediately associated Joel with Texas, even though he's from Wisconsin and then associated me with being an outsider.







Now, I was born in Nebraska. I'm a lot closer to Texas than Joel, but I was seen as being an East Coast person. Immediately, I thought, oh my gosh, I think the Massachusetts is starting to show on me.







Joel Saxum: It's the glasses. I think.







Allen Hall: Is it the glasses? You think that makes me look Danish?







Rosemary Barnes: Don't you have glasses too, Joel?







I'm looking at you both.







Joel Saxum: Allen's looks way too smart.

Ørsted forms long-term charter with Cadeler for a new wind turbine installation vessel, Quinnbrook Infrastructure Partners successfully closes of its $600 million Quinnbrook Valley of Fire Fund, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board consolidates its offshore wind holdings into its dedicated global offshore wind platform, Reventus Power.







Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!







Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com







Allen Hall: I'm Allen Hall, president of Weather Guard Lightning Tech, and I'm here with the founder and CEO of IntelStor, Phil Totaro, and the chief commercial officer of Weather Guard, Joel Saxum. And this is your News Flash. News Flash is brought to you by our friends at IntelStor. If you want market intelligence that generates revenue, then book a demonstration of IntelStor at IntelStor. com.







Offshore wind developer, Ørsted, has signed a long term charter with Cadeler for a new A class wind turbine installation in Vessel, the hybrid vessel can transport and install both turbine foundations and the turbines themselves and has a capacity for six double XL monopile foundations or seven complete 15 megawatt turbine setups per trip.







The partnership extends Ørsted and Cadeler's collaboration as the offshore wind industry scales up to meet ambitious targets. Now, Phil offshore developers and ship developers make a lot of sense here just because of the lack of ships and the, all the pressure to try to lock in ship time.







Philip Totaro: Yeah, absolutely.







And given some of the past experience Ørsted's had with lack of vessel availability, it was part of what they claimed was the rationale for pulling out of some of the projects in the U. S. as well. Was lack of vessel availability. So this gives them something dedicated and assumes that they're obviously also going to have a big pipeline of projects to be able to go justify, spending, I'm conservatively thinking about 225 million on an installation vessel of that size.







So, this is it's a great deal and it helps certainly provides certainty for Kettler as well who, Also, I just got through their merger last year with Anetti. So this, it's I think this is a great thing that that both companies are going to be able to benefit from.







And it certainly brings Ørsted some certainty on a vessel capable of deploying, what is currently the latest generation of Western developed technology.







Joel Saxum: So Cadeler has four existing vessels and six next gen new builds on order, right?

Allen and Joel speak with Jatin Sharma from NARDAC, an insurance broker specializing in complex renewable projects. As a boutique firm, NARDAC aims to bridge knowledge gaps between insurance capital providers and renewable companies to facilitate optimal coverage terms amidst the market's rapid evolution and emerging risks. Visit https://nardac.com/ for more!







Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!







Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com















Allen Hall: Welcome to the special edition of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I'm your host, Allen Hall, and I'm here with my co host, Joel Saxum. Our guest today is Jatin Sharma, a managing partner at NARDAC. NARDAC is an independent wholesale broker, which navigates the relationship between insurance carriers and retail brokers.







And as the turbulent as the insurance market is at the moment, NARDAC may be your key to getting there. Success weathering the insurance storm. NARNAC is a specialist for large, complex projects that includes a focus on renewable energy. Whether you're an original equipment manufacturer, a developer building a wind farm, or an asset owner, NARNAC helps the industry understand the risks.







Jatin, welcome to the program.







Jatin Sharma: Thanks for having me.







Joel Saxum: So Allen and I of course in the lightning world and wind and with the podcast and the networks that we have, we talk to people about failures and fires and gearboxes and all these different things. Do you see the like macro changes, right? So I say this because I've talked with people in the insurance world or in the, on the risk world on the IPP side that say, yeah, our premium is going up on this site.







Or our deductibles are starting to increase here for this reason. And to me, it seems like that's more of a, like a micro okay, that's specific to this project, this technology, this site, mostly it's this site but with better communication strategies in a more I would say a more integrated insurance market.







Do you see the premiums or the deductibles starting to change? And let's just, it's for ease of use. Let's focus on like the U S onshore market.







Jatin Sharma: If we did like a. a three to five year time horizon with today versus, three to five years ago. I'd say that we've probably seen an increase of about 40 percent on the price paid per megawatt for wind operators in the US.







And that,

Allen and Joel talk to Laurent Zimmerli, Vice President of Customer Experience at Voliro. Voliro is a Swiss company that creates drones and robotics to transform the industrial inspection and maintenance processes. Their flagship "Voliro T" drone is designed for stable and controlled contact with surfaces, enabling efficient inspection of wind turbines including non-destructive testing and lightning protection system testing. Visit https://voliro.com/ for more!







Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!







Pardalote Consulting - https://www.pardaloteconsulting.comWeather Guard Lightning Tech - www.weatherguardwind.comIntelstor - https://www.intelstor.com















Allen Hall: Welcome to the special edition of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I'm your host, Allen Hall, along with my co host, Joel Saxum. Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Laurent Zimmerli, Vice President of Customer Experience at Voliro. And Voliro is a pioneering Swiss company applying drones and robotics to transform inspection and maintenance processes.







Founded in 2016 out of ETH Zurich's Autonomous Systems Lab, Voliro has quickly become a leader in industrial inspections and non destructive. Testing their flagship offering is the Voliro T drone known for its stability and reliability in confined spaces. Thanks to its omni directional control. We're all welcome to the program.







Laurent Zimmerli: Thanks Allen. Thanks for having me. It's great to be on the show today.







Joel Saxum: We had this conversation. Okay. We're fresh off of OMS and blades and people talking. Lightning protection has been. Huge. Everybody's talking about it. Lightning protectionist. Weather Guard lightning tech, that's what we do, right?







We're talking StrikeTape to people all the time. The first thing we ask them is, when was the last time you got your lightning protection systems tested? And a lot of times we get this glassy eyed look. Do we do that? They look at someone else and pull their phone out Do we do that? This is, this, and this is one of the reasons we want to talk to you.







We want to touch on Voliro and all of the offerings you guys offer, because I know you're working on NDT things. You're working on a lot of cool stuff, because you've solved a base root problem. So let's jump into that. The base root problem of flying drones and being in contact with surfaces.







Laurent Zimmerli: Yeah, that's exactly, that's actually how it started back in 2016 at ETH Zurich as a research project.







So we definitely didn't think about testing lightning pr...