EP112 – Autonomous Robots for Offshore Wind?

How to explain sharp increases in power purchase agreement (PPA) prices? According to a Q1 report, PPA prices are up 28.5% over last year - and the trend is expected to continue. It's more complicated than 'just' supply and demand. Allen and Rosemary discuss the global market, regulatory forces, and how governments might respond. Meanwhile, Amazon has announced 37 new renewable energy projects in 8 countries, NREL and GE want to stabilize the power grid with wind turbines, freeze-thaw batteries are taking us a step closer to seasonal storage, and ice-detection has a distinct ring to it. Also, a robot has proven it can perform a bolt check, autonomously, from inside a turbine - which could be huge for offshore operations.  Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!