Under the slogan “Dare to make more progress”, the new traffic light coalition in the German government has big plans for the energy transition…it could be assumed. In fact, it has resolved to do the bare minimum in its power…

Many analyses in the field of wind energy are based on virtual models. However, these simulation models are not freely available for every real wind turbine. Fraunhofer IWES solves this problem with an innovative approach. Researchers at IWES are currently…

Author: Niklas JöresThis summer, the Application Center for the Integration of Local Energy Systems (ILES) ran a one-week summer school in cooperation with Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) offering students the opportunity to learn how electrolyzers and wind turbines…

Part 3: Rapid testing of blade bearings – The first endurance run. In Part 1, I introduced the idea of an accelerated endurance run for blade bearings, which would consist of all wear-inducing cycles in direct succession. In Part 2,…

A controller or control system is an essential wind turbine component. In modern wind energy turbines, stable operation is not possible without a controller. As a research associate at Fraunhofer IWES, I work in the field of control technology for…

The deformation under load and the load distribution within the bearing are of great significance for the design of large rolling bearings such as rotor blade bearings. FE models are indispensable when it comes to determining the load distribution and…

Ever since the beginnings of the large-scale commercial use of wind energy in the 1990s, the industry has observed one considerable trend which remains steady to the present day: turbine growth. Recently, this trend has experienced another boost. In this…

Authors: Karoline Pelka and Dr.-Ing. Katharina Fischer Power converters are among the most frequently failing components of wind turbines. The causes remained unexplained for many years. Seasonal failure patterns point to environmental influences and shift the focus to the climatic…

Authors: Karoline Pelka, Vincent Wilms, Dr. Martin Dörenkämper Digitalization is on everyone’s lips. How can digitalization in the wind industry contribute to the improved competitive ability of renewable energies? One answer is the safe and uncomplicated sharing of wind turbine…

Authors: Dr.-Ing. Katharina Fischer, Karoline Pelka Wind turbines generate electricity – and a whole lot of data. The amount of data is growing continuously as the number of operating years increases, but also as turbines are equipped with more and…