Recent research points to a massive increase in demand for offshore wind technology in Northern Europe.  In just eight years, over 500 offshore wind turbines have been deployed and (here’s the amazing part) 35% of these went live in 2010.

This unprecedented uptake in wind turbine technology is causing the industry to re-think how it does things, according to this article at offshorewind.biz. The spike in demand has knock on effects right through the supply chain but the basic driving need is to scale up activity. This means 5 MW power plants instead of 2 MW power plants, larger turbine arrays and farms and bigger components right throughout the turbine. This means larger blades, larger bearings and direct drive generators.

Our place in the value chain is subject to similar demands. As the demand for wind power grows, we’ve seen a massive rise in the use of cellular technologies for monitoring and assessment applications. There’s a growing need for accurate resource assessment prior to installation and cellular M2M technology is an integral part of this process. The ability to accurately assess the resource potential of a particular site is essential, as it ensures maximum efficiency and return on investment. Cellular M2M technology plays a key role here in delivering that data in real time so that it can be assessed and reviewed prior to commitments being made and money being invested.

These are interesting times for the offshore energy industry and for everyone in the supply chain. We fully expect the offshore sector to be a large growth market for us in 2012 and look forward to working on some exciting projects.

Wind industry developers and consultants will have cause to celebrate today thanks to the introduction of WindLinx™, a unified wireless service from Wireless Innovation Ltd and NRG Systems. The new service, designed exclusively for those conducting wind measurement campaigns using NRG Systems’ communication modules, streamlines the wireless account set-up process and simplifies overall management of met tower data transfer from multiple sites around the world.

“WindLinx eliminates the need to juggle information from multiple wireless providers – it’s a one stop shop for the management of wireless communication services for met towers,” said Larry Jacobs, marketing manager for NRG Systems. “With this global wireless service, customers can now meet all of their wireless service needs through Wireless Innovation – a single provider that offers flexibility and competitive rates,” said Jacobs.

WindLinx™ allows for uniform activation of communications services (including Iridium satellite, GSM and CDMA). The WindLinx™ web portal, a key feature of the wireless service, allows for remote management and monitoring of wireless account activity.

“Wireless Innovation has supplied Iridium based satellite connectivity and complimentary back office services to NRG Systems’ customers for many years now,” said Jeff Martin, Commercial Director for Wireless Innovation. “We understand the communications needs of NRG’s customers and the challenges of working with multiple service types and their providers across geographic regions. The introduction of the capability of Cellubi allowed us to provide the cellular part of Windlinx. The unification of communications and benefits of a single back office management platform is a natural extension of the existing services and solution that can take care of all met tower communication needs, anywhere in the world.”

NRG System’s Symphonie™ iPacks will ship pre-configured for WindLinx wireless service, including a form instructing customers how to activate and manage accounts. Customers wishing to remain with existing service providers may continue to do so. NRG Systems and Wireless Innovation have been technical partners since 2004 with the successful introduction of NRG Systems’ Symphonie iPack Iridium satellite communication module. For additional information or a demonstration of the WindLinx™ wireless service visit www.windlinx.com.