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Wind power has become the world’s fastest growing energy source over the
last decade
LINKING PEOPLE, JOINING NATIONS
A voice from the past, Dr H. Harris of Babcock and Wilcox (UK), was to register
welding’s importance by saying ‘It is permissible for us to proclaim in the most blatant
manner possible that, but for welding, modern steamgenerating plant could not be fabricated,
and the most modern power process of all, namely nuclear power, would not have been
contemplated had welding not attained the degree of reliability we know at present’.²
Although his words were strong in emphasis there is no doubt that
power, as a means of providing energy to shape the course of human
progress, has changed considerably since Harris made his pronouncement
to the IIW Annual Assembly and Conference in Liege in 1960. In the latter
years, since 1990, there has been a pronounced shift away from fossil fuel
power plant towards renewable and clean energy resources to drive domestic
and industrial energy interests.
Hydroelectric power plays an important part in the overall power energy mix.
Already, the two largest hydroelectric construction projects, the Three Gorges Dam in
China, and the Itaipu Dam on the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, are the biggest
producers of electricity, far exceeding the outputs of the largest nuclear and coal-fired
power stations. While not having the same level of technical challenge as nuclear power
generation, the construction of hydroelectric plant required considerable welding expertise
from a structural point of view and in the installation of critical generating equipment.
Welding challenges, with the application of new materials that have high-strength and