Published

3 weeks ago

March 16, 2026

Alice Rush

Weather Guard Lightning Tech

Vineyard Wind Finishes, Maersk Viridis Heads to New York

Allen covers a week of offshore wind milestones including the Maersk Viridis sailing toward New York, Revolution Wind’s first power delivery, Vineyard Wind’s final blade, RWE’s Thor project in Denmark, and Kinewell Energy’s fundraise in England.

Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter 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 YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

Good morning, everyone.

There is a ship sailing toward America right now. And when it arrives, it will be the most powerful wind turbine installation vessel ever to work in United States waters. Her name is Maersk Viridis. Built by Seatrium in Singapore. Forty thousand tonnes of steel. A main crane reaching one hundred and eighty meters into the sky. Designed to lift the next generation of fifteen-megawatt turbines. At her naming ceremony, godmother Charlotte Norkjer Larsen smashed a bottle of champagne against the main crane pedestal. Viridis — the Latin word for green. The Viridis is headed for Equinor’s Empire Wind project off the coast of New York. When complete, five hundred thousand homes will have power.

Now, there is something worth noting. This vessel was built as a Jones Act-compliant solution. That means it can work legally in United States offshore waters. It was built with zero lost time injuries. And while one great ship sails west, the wind industry is moving forward on every front.

In New England, the Revolution Wind project delivered its first power to the grid. Seven hundred and four megawatts. Power enough for up to three hundred and fifty thousand homes. Built by local union workers logging more than two million hours. That same week, workers installed the last turbine blade on Vineyard Wind. A project that endured a fractured blade in July of twenty twenty-four, a legal battle to survive a federal stop-work order, and came out the other side — still standing.

On the other side of the world, Denmark is doing what Denmark does. The first turbine is now installed at the Thor offshore wind project. In the North Sea, off the west coast of Jutland. When finished, Thor will be Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm. Seventy-two turbines. Each capable of fifteen megawatts. Each turbine rising one hundred and forty-eight meters above the sea. Total project capacity — one-point-one gigawatts. The installation vessel is the Brave Tern, operated by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier. She carries three turbines per trip. Some blades on Thor are recyclable. That is not a headline you could have written ten years ago. And the developer building Thor? That would be RWE. RWE is everywhere right now.

Now, for a small story with a large idea behind it. In Wallsend, England, a twelve-person company called Kinewell just raised seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Founded by an engineer named Andrew Jenkins while he was earning his PhD at Newcastle University. Kinewell builds software — software that optimises the design of offshore wind farms. Cable layouts, turbine placement, transmission systems. All three, working together. Their clients include Equinor, SSE Renewables, and Eurus Energy. The new funding unlocks a further six-figure grant, bringing total new capital to more than one million pounds. Ten new jobs in the next six months. Their software has saved clients hundreds of millions of pounds. That is what the right tool can do.

So let us step back and look at the week. A ship christened and sailing to New York. A New England grid receiving its first offshore wind power. Vineyard Wind — finished at last. Denmark’s largest wind farm, growing turbine by turbine. And a twelve-person software firm in northeast England, helping shape the invisible architecture of the energy transition.

That is the Wind Energy News for the 16th of March, 2026. Join us for the Uptime Wind Energy podcast tomorrow.

Vineyard Wind Finishes, Maersk Viridis Heads to New York

Renewable Energy

Setting Our Priorities

Published

20 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Alice Rush

Are there drag queens in our schools? If so, is this a major threat to our kids, in a country that is run a criminal sociopath?

Setting Our Priorities

Renewable Energy

Quebec Wind Boom, Aikido’s Floating AI Platform

Published

1 day ago

April 6, 2026

Alice Rush

Weather Guard Lightning Tech

Quebec Wind Boom, Aikido’s Floating AI Platform

Allen covers Quebec’s record wind project, Madawaska’s financial close, Nova Scotia’s first direct-to-consumer wind sales, PEI’s retiring wind farm, and Aikido’s floating offshore AI data center.

Good Monday everyone.

Canada is building.

On the last day of March… the province of Quebec broke ground on the largest wind energy project in Canadian history.

It is called Des Neiges… French for “of the snows.”

One hundred and fourteen turbines. Two hundred meters tall each. Seven megawatts apiece.

When the first two phases are complete… those turbines will power one hundred and forty thousand homes.

The partners are Boralex, Énergir, and Hydro-Quebec. The investment: three billion dollars.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said it plainly at a recent ceremony: “There is a global race right now to dramatically increase electricity production.”

He is not wrong.

Also in Quebec… the Madawaska Wind Energy Project just reached financial close. EDF Renewables and Hydro-Quebec are behind that one. Two hundred and seventy-four megawatts. Forty-five turbines. Financed under Green Loan Principles. Expected to power more than forty-four thousand homes.

Now… across the Gulf of Saint Lawrence… Nova Scotia is launching the Mersey River Wind project. One hundred and forty-eight-point-five megawatts. Thirty-three turbines.

And here is where it gets interesting. For the first time… consumers in the province will be able to buy electricity directly from a wind farm. Not from the utility. From the source. A company called Renewall Energy is already signing contracts with homeowners… businesses… even the city of Halifax.

And then there is Prince Edward Island. That province is saying goodbye to its very first wind farm.

North Cape began in two thousand and one. Sixteen turbines. Each rated at just point-six-six megawatts. The province’s newest turbines? Four-point-two megawatts each. The P.E.I. Energy Corporation is seeking bids for an environmental impact assessment… the first step toward replacement.

Twenty-five years ago… North Cape was a pioneer. Today… it is showing its age. That is how progress works.

But let us end on this.

Out in California… a company called Aikido Technologies has unveiled a floating wind platform… that also serves as an AI data center. The platform pairs an eighteen-megawatt turbine with onboard computing power… cooled by the surrounding ocean. A prototype is being built in Norway. Commercial launch: the United Kingdom… twenty twenty-eight.

The CEO put it simply: “Before we go off-world… we should go offshore.”

So… from Quebec to Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island… Canada is building its energy future at full speed. And somewhere out on the open ocean… someone is building the next chapter altogether.

And that is the state of the wind industry for the 6th of April 2026.

Join us tomorrow for the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.