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October 27, 2021 – Wind Views | Tower Sections

Each One Energy wind turbine is supported by a tower made up of four sections: the base section, the lower-mid section, the upper-mid section, and the top section. Each section tapers so that it’s wider at the bottom than it is at the top – which provides stability.

In today’s edition of Wind Views, a crane is lifting the lower-mid tower section, as One Energy technicians prepare to “catch” it and attach it to the base section. We call this phase of wind turbine construction “stacking the tower.” You can see all four tower sections in this photo, and if you look closely, you may notice their tapered shape!

October 26, 2021 – “Panel discussion: Co-creating innovative solutions for the future of energy,” Transformer Days Americas

This virtual event hosted by Hitachi Energy and Transformers Magazine featured industry experts sharing trends and information in the world of transformers – including sustainability and co-creation. CEO Jereme Kent was asked to participate in a panel with other leaders in the field – to discuss co-creation and our energy future.

“If you aren’t willing to have two-way candor, there’s no co-creation,” Jereme said, on the topic of making information available and being honest. “True co-creation is what allows for innovation.”

For more, register for free and watch the recording here.

October 25, 2021 – Wind Study | Question 26

When we talk about building wind projects at One Energy, it’s not theoretical. We’re “in the trenches” so to speak – doing all the work ourselves when planning, constructing, and operating Wind for Industry projects for our customers!

Fortunately, however, we’re able to use machinery when it comes to actually digging trenches for our turbine cabling. This way, our technicians don’t have to be physically in the trenches, and it can remain a figure of speech 👌

Today’s homework questions are all about trenching, the equipment we use (like a skid steer, pictured below), and the dirt we save for backfill!

Download the assignment here, check for the answers on Monday, and be sure to share this educational series on Facebook and Twitter!

Use this trench diagram to help answer question 2 in today’s Wind Study!

October 20, 2021 – Wind Views | Flying a Rotor

Have you ever wondered how we complete construction at the top of our wind turbines?

If you tuned in for last week’s edition of Wind Views, you probably know the answer… a giant crane!

Our turbine blades are attached to the hub on the ground, then the combination of hub and blades (collectively called the rotor) is lifted to the top of the wind turbine tower using a crane. This process is called “flying the rotor,” and is pictured below!

The hub height for our wind turbines is around 260 feet, and the crane in this picture is almost 300 feet tall!

October 18, 2021 – Wind Study | Answer 25

You may not be able to see a microwave, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there! (those who completed last week’s Wind Study will get it) 📡

You can check the answers to last week’s questions on microwave paths by downloading them here! 

We hope to see you next Monday and be sure to share this educational series on Facebook and Twitter!

October 13, 2021 – Wind Views | Crane Disassembly

One Energy’s Wind for Industry projects require cranes to lift the turbine components into place. When fully assembled, these cranes are almost 300 feet tall! So what do we do with such a big piece of equipment when it’s not in use?

Cranes can be disassembled into much smaller sections and stored at our headquarters, like the yellow crane pictured in today’s Wind View. Disassembling the crane allows it to be easily stored and await transportation to a project site whenever it is needed. When that time comes, the smaller crane (featured in this photo on the right) will be used to lift the sections onto trucks, so the crane can be transported to the necessary site.

Having the crane disassembled and ready for transport allows One Energy to quickly begin construction on projects, which will produce energy for our customers!

October 11, 2021 – Wind Study | Question 25

Today’s Wind Study is about microwaves! No, not the appliance used to heat up your food.

A microwave is an electromagnetic wave with frequencies ranging from 300 megahertz to 300 gigahertz. These microwaves can be used to transmit information from one place to another by sending a signal from a transmitter to a receiver – with the ability to transmit information more than 30 miles away!

This technology is very useful for transmitting information; however, it requires a path free of obstructions to successfully transmit data. Obstructions are typically avoided by placing the transmitter and receiver on towers. While this avoids low obstacles like trees and houses, taller structures such as buildings, cell towers, or wind turbines could cause an obstruction.

To avoid interference, anyone who builds tall structures should conduct a microwave path study before the structures are built. This is part of our project planning process at One Energy – and part of this week’s Wind Study assignment!

Download the homework questions here – and come back next week for the answers!

And be sure to share this educational series on Facebook and Twitter!

This is a diagram of a Fresnel Zone that is centered on a microwave path. It forms an ellipsoid that is thinnest at the transmitter
and receiver and widest in the middle. You’ll use this diagram in this week’s Wind Study!

October 07, 2021 – Technician Talk | High Voltage Glove Inspection Guidelines

Safety is a value that fits like a glove at One Energy.

Which makes sense, because gloves are essential for the work our technicians do! And when that work involves high voltage, careful protection like specially rated gloves is especially vital.

High-voltage gloves are used for activities like de-energizing electrical equipment and systems, working with high-voltage cables that can’t be de-energized, and performing tests on live electrical circuits. Our commitment to conducting these activities safely means we take extra precautions to ensure our protective equipment works properly.

Today’s episode of Technician Talk is about how to visually inspect high-voltage gloves for things like pinholes, fraying, and other issues – to ensure we’re catching any wear and tear, and replacing damaged gloves before they become unsafe. (We’ll also touch on the ASTM F496 – the related specification from the American Society for Testing and Materials.)

Technician Talks can also be found on our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter feeds– and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more One Energy content!

October 07, 2021 – Executive Thoughts | Pointing the Finger Where it Needs to be Pointed

It is human nature for people to point the finger at others when something goes wrong. Who doesn’t remember it as a kid? Breaking something, spilling something, or doing something you knew you weren’t supposed to and then looking for a plausible culprit to point the finger at when you were found out. Or hiding the mistake and hoping you didn’t get caught.

Unfortunately, the human tendency to point the finger elsewhere or pretend a mistake didn’t happen doesn’t completely disappear in adulthood. And there’s a good reason why. The truth is, it stinks to mess up. It is embarrassing and it usually involves fixing a mess, owning up to something in front of your peers and bosses, or even being disciplined or getting into trouble. All of those undesirable ramifications can make it much easier for us, as humans, to revert to our childhood tendency of deflecting the blame elsewhere.

But in a company, pointing the finger elsewhere can be an enormously missed opportunity.

See, often a mistake in a business is indicative of a much more systemic, deep-rooted issue. Maybe that person didn’t have the training they needed to do the task they were given. Maybe they didn’t have the context they needed to know the audience they were delivering a message to. Maybe a process or protocol wasn’t communicated to them, or its importance wasn’t reinforced. Maybe the necessary systems were not put in place to catch critical mistakes.

In business, the reality is that sometimes the mistakes made by employees tell a much bigger story. So it is crucial to create a culture that goes against this human tendency to point the finger elsewhere. Instead, when a mistake is made, everyone around that mistake – that person, their boss, and their entire team – should point the finger at directly him or herself and ask, “how is this my fault?” No pretending it didn’t happen. No moving on without dissecting the mistake. No pointing the finger at anyone but yourself.

So how do you create this culture of pointing the finger in the right place?

First, create an environment of doing postmortems on mistakes. Acknowledge the mistake. Get everyone around it to put their minds together to figure out what went wrong and why. Figure out constructive ways to fix the mistake and the broader company structure that let it happen in the first place.

Second, be an example. If you make a mistake, own up to it. Point the finger at yourself and let others know it was your fault. Show that it is okay to make mistakes and that the way to deal with it is head on, with everyone who has the power to keep it from happening again in the future.

Third, don’t overreact to mistakes. Some mistakes deserve big ramifications. But others do not. Keep your anger in check and work through the mistake rationally, instead of using anger or punishment as a first resort.

This list is just a start. But mistakes certainly cannot be dealt with by gossiping about them, sweeping them under the rug, or rushing to point the finger elsewhere.

Making a mistake stinks, but making a mistake can also be a great teacher. Don’t let your company suffer by passing over the lessons that teacher has to give. Instead, make a commitment to a culture of pointing the finger where it needs to be pointed.

Katie Johnson Treadway is the Head of Regulatory Affairs at One Energy.

Learn more about Katie and the One Energy team.

October 06, 2021 – Wind Views | Independent Turbine Rotation

In last week’s Wind View, we discussed how our wind turbines rotate, or “yaw” to face the wind. This swivel helps them optimize the amount of energy they produce. But sometimes, you may see turbines facing different directions, like in the photo below. Why is that?

There are a few possible reasons why turbines might be yawed differently:

  1. To prevent the cables inside from becoming twisted, the turbine eventually must rotate in the opposite direction from how it was rotating before. Our turbines do this automatically to keep all the cables inside healthy and tidy.
  2. For turbine safety and longevity, One Energy intentionally limits the operation of our turbines during high winds. When this happens, they might still yaw, but since they’re not operating to capture the wind, the directions they face may not be uniform.
  3. To adjust for wind interference, a turbine might yaw in a different direction when a neighboring turbine is blocking it from catching as much wind.

For maintenance, a turbine might be shut down so it doesn’t yaw when under inspection, to ensure the safety of our technicians inside.

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