A Good Impression...
I am pleased to present you with the first issue of Windtech International, the new magazine for the international wind energy community. This new business to business magazine will contain information you won’t find elsewhere. The main focus will be on publishing technical articles in easy to read English. Topics covered will range from rotor blades to foundations and from hardware to software.
{access view=!registered}Only logged in users can view the full text of the article.{/access}{access view=registered}Before the launch we conducted a survey to determine and test the scope of the magazine. The response rate for this survey was 20%, which in itself indicates that interest is high. The outcome that was most striking to us is that more than 95% of you welcomed the idea of a technically oriented magazine for our industry. I find it very encouraging that we share the same feeling regarding this initiative. In addition to the general questions, we also asked respondents about specific topics. From this we could see that you rated all the topics we planned to include as ‘important’ or ‘very important’. I would like to thank all respondents for participating in the survey and for all the very useful comments made.
The articles in this issue reflect a number of the topics we plan to cover and will, we hope, give you a good impression of where the magazine stands. In addition to the technical articles, we will also present you with interviews, news, product surveys and company profiles.
For every issue we will invite a high-profile professional to give his or her view on a certain topic. It is a special honour for us to welcome Mr Preben Maegaard, President of the World Wind Energy Association, as the first guest writer for the column ‘View from Inside’ and I would like to thank him very much for his contribution.
As we all know, offshore wind farms will be very important in the future. Compared with wind farms on land, the industry faces different issues in building these parks. Because they are so important, we decided to focus a number of the articles in this issue on aspects of offshore wind farms. Topics such as offshore foundations, monitoring systems, and the preparations for a large offshore wind farm in the UK are covered. Another issue of concern with offshore wind farms is the transportation of staff and equipment to and from the site. West Coast Workboats developed a special vehicle for this purpose. In the interview on page 7 Neil Clarkson, one of the founders of the company, gives his view on this topic.
Windtech International is the source if you want to stay up to date about technological developments and innovations within our industry. The annual subscription fee will be €45, but if you subscribe now you can benefit from the free introductory offer. Please fill out the form on page 48 or subscribe online at www.windtech-international.com.
I wish you much reading pleasure for now and in the future.
Floris Siteur
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