WPNL 202202

Editor’s note
The collective
KIVI membership
Dear reader,
Today, almost all of us live ‘in the cloud’. Our work, our
conversations, our photo moments - we store everything so we
can access it no matter when and where we are. When
travelling, Google tells you where to find the best restaurants
and hotels and, more recently, where to find the nearest EV
charging station, for example. By the way, that trip was booked
and paid for with one click via a secured app, of course after
extensively comparing the different options and prices.
We are talking about digitalisation. And yes, it has made our lives
easier in many ways. But we are also noticing more and more how
vulnerable we have become at the same time. Think of the spam mail we
receive, but also the feeling that you are being ‘watched’. How often do
you talk about something and then receive advertising about this topic on
your mobile? And even with the use of passwords, hackers still find their way to
your data.
The above can also be translated to the wind industry, in fact to all industries.
Digitalisation opens the door to more optimised and sustainable operations: optimised
operation of assets, time savings, cost savings, emission savings, just to mention a few, but
potentially also safety of those who work in the wind farms.
In this edition, we discuss the status of wind industry digitalisation (p.7) and show
examples of initiatives by existing Dutch players and start-up companies. But the wind
industry is also still relatively new in this area and if the proper measures are not
implemented, this could have a high price. Like Harold Veldkamp of Topsector Energie
says: it is not a question whether you will be hacked but when (see p. 10).
Your employees up to date
Good employership starts with happy employees, who are motivated, challenged and upto-date.
In our present time with technological developments at top speed, innovations and
transformations professional agility is paramount. Would you, as an employer like to make
a structural contribution to the technical development of your employees? Consider a collective
membership at the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers (KIVI: Koninklij k Instituut
Van Ingenieurs). Sign up ten (or more) of your top engineers and they can immediately
benefit from all advantages the largest engineering platform in the Netherlands has to offer.
But while we welcome new, modern solutions for optimising wind farm operation and all
related activities, we also say goodbye to initiatives that once were also new and innovative.
Currently two large wind energy repowering projects are taking place in the Netherlands.
Scattered, solo wind turbines and small wind farms are making way for clustered, large,
multi-megawatt wind farms. In this edition we discuss the dismantling of the iconic
‘nearshore’ wind farm Irene Vorrink (p. 36) which is making way for the large
Windplanblauw project. We also look back at a once internationally famous Dutch wind
turbine manufacturer NedWind. The last wind turbines can still be viewed...but not for
long!
I wish you pleasant reading, and if you are at WindEnergy Hamburg - make sure to visit
me at B4.EG. 327.
Are you active in the Dutch wind energy market? Send us your news at
editorial@windpowernl.com! I am looking forward to speaking to you soon.
Sabine Lankhorst
Editor in Chief
Windpowernl
Windpowernl.com
Editorial@windpowernl.com
‘Digitalisation
opens the door to
more optimised
and sustainable
operations’
02-2022 | 3