Husum’s Growth Continues
The 2010 HUSUM WindEnergy and its accompanying trade symposia will take place between 21 and 25 September. Wind energy will continue to grow in importance as an economic factor, playing an increasing part in diversifying Europe’s electricity supply and helping efforts to combat climate change. Installed capacity is expected to increase by several times in the next 20 years. This growth is reflected by the size of this year’s event. Exhibition space has been expanded from 30,000m2 (2008) to about 43,000m2 in 2010 and the exhibitors are showing their products and services in six halls. Besides that, this year the congress will be held in the new 4,500m2 congress and event centre. The organisation is expecting around 950 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors from 70 nations, continuing the success and enjoyment of past exhibitions. I wish everybody a successful show and I hope to see many of you in Husum.{access view=!registered}Only logged in users can view the full text of the article.{/access}{access view=registered}Small is Sometimes Better
Wind turbine blade manufacturers are being challenged to build larger and larger blades, exhausting the capabilities of current composite materials. The emerging field of nanotechnology will offer dramatic benefits for composites applications. An article written by Blake Branson from sp3 nanotech on page 7 introduces the reader to the unique properties of nanoparticles, and why their small size is important. The technical hurdles for nanomaterials are addressed and an example of how nanomaterials can improve the performance of materials is given.
Surge Protection
Surge protection is becoming increasingly important for the industry. Testinglab Denmark ApS has recently begun construction of a test facility for full-scale lightning tests. This new laboratory will facilitate testing of full-scale components against the damaging effects of lightning, and other phenomena related to high voltage and high impulse current. The test centre will be one of the world’s biggest commercially driven lightning test laboratories, not only in terms of impulse current and voltage levels but also in terms of physical size. Testinglab Denmark ApS is an affiliated company of Highvoltage.dk ApS and Electricon A/S. In another related development the International Electrical Committee (IEC) has published a standard for the selection and use of equipment for surge protection in low-voltage power distribution systems (IEC61643 Low-Voltage Protective Devices: Part 12 Surge protective devices connected to low-voltage power distribution systems – Selection and Application Principles). In his article, which starts on page 27, Thomas Holm Krogh from Electricon talks about surge protection in general and also describes these new standards and gives us a guide on how to use them.
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Floris Siteur
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