The Switch received orders for key wind power components from PROKON of Germany. Together with repeat agreements from China, the total order value The Switch received during June is over EUR 100 million, resulting in the largest order backlog in the company’s history.
What do wind turbines and summer cottages have in common? They are quite similar. Perhaps not in numbers, but from a technology point of view. Some are equipped with features only considered necessary for survival; others have ultra-modern technical solutions that even enable remote access to monitoring equipment by mobile phone. Both in cottages and turbines, features requested in the 90s may not live up to our needs today.
In many ways, there isn’t much new in renewable energy. Renewable energy, of course, is new in the sense of what it means. The energy source renews itself and its availability is as such plentiful. Yet, both wind and hydro energy have been captured for hundreds of years, for example, in sailboats, windmills, hydro powered mills, saws and other equipment. Solar was harvested in greenhouses and for heating long before there were photovoltaic panels.
The Switch, a leading supplier of megawatt-class permanent magnet generator and full-power converter packages for wind power and other renewable energy applications, announces the addition of David Ho to the Board of Directors.
Soaring fuel prices and global overcapacity are forcing the marine industry to rethink conventional power configurations. Ship owners are struggling to turn a profit. The time has come for advanced technologies that can revolutionize the way ships generate and use energy.
The Switch’s permanent magnet technology has been proven in the harsh environments of the wind industry. Now, we’re making this technology available to marine to offer unmatched power density, energy efficiency, design flexibility and operational reliability.
The debate still continues about which drive train is the best for a wind turbine. In 2011, 42.3 GW of wind generators were delivered; PMG’s share was 6.5 GW, which gives it a 15% market share. This is already a significant accomplishment. So we can say that PMG is a standard option and no longer just a technology trial.
Although wind industry growth has slowed down to an annual average of 3.8%, MAKE consulting estimates for the next five years that PMGs will keep growing faster than the average market growth rate.
Hurricane Sandy was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in US history, making landfall on October 29. The storm caused massive electrical grid damages in New Jersey, New York and many New England areas, causing power outages for businesses, industrial sites, medical centers, and countless homes.
It showed just how helpless we are when this kind of natural disaster happens in our own backyard. As a result, building management now aims to ensure that buildings do not lose electrical power during such a disaster because of a missing emergency power generation system.
Between 2009 – 2011, we were spoiled by a “green race” that started as a sprint. There was an urgent need to bring Asian nations—especially China—into line with the rest of the world to use cleaner and more efficient energy sources.
Suddenly in 2012, it’s turned into something of a marathon, with companies and financial institutions involved in the market, which has been slowed by regulatory and political climates that have evolved in the face of new economic realities.
Now, the presentations from our The Switch UpDate 360° in Vaasa, Finland on March 13, 2013, are available online.
Welcome to our many different viewpoints on how to become more competitive in today’s tricky renewable energy environment.
The Switch announced today the appointment of David Zhao in the position of General Manager for China. This hiring of Zhao underpins The Switch’s long-term ambitions to establish itself as the preferred partner in permanent magnet generators and full-power converters in a market in which The Switch has been extremely strong.
The gear and generator combination, now in commercial production for DeWind, is a joint effort of The Switch and gear supplier Moventas. FusionDrive® is the most advanced gear and generator combination in the world, with an astonishing efficiency. The overall drive train efficiency with both partial loads and nominal output has proven to be best in class and will lower the cost of wind energy.
The Switch, a Finland-based supplier of permanent magnet generator and full-power converter packages, announced today that its first 5 MW high-speed drive trains installed in the field in China for CSIC Haizhuang Windpower Equipment Co., Ltd, a Chinese wind power equipment manufacturer, are now successfully operating.
