Wiring anomaly linked to turbine collapse
Noble Environmental Power elaborated further on what is believed to have caused a wind turbine to collapse in its Altona Wind Park.
In a news release, the company said the GE wind turbines are equipped with a pitch-control system that is supposed to stop the turbine’s operation when there is a power outage, as happened the day of the collapse. Without that system, the turbine will spin faster than its design allows.
Wind Turbine 42 broke in two and collapsed early March 6. The collapse sparked a small fire.
Investigation by GE crews into Wind Turbine 59, which also didn’t shut down but didn’t collapse, revealed a wiring anomaly that allowed the blades to keep spinning. Data from the Wind Turbine 42 indicates the same wiring anomaly.
Noble believes the combination of power loss and the wiring anomaly are to blame for the collapse, in which no one was injured. The company said 63 of the 65 turbines shut down as expected.
Noble shut down the entire wind park after the accident. As GE crews test and approve the other wind turbines, they are being put back in service.
Noble has determined debris fell up to 345 feet from the base of the turbine. That is well within the 1,200-foot setback from the nearest residences and 500-foot setback from public roads, as called for in the Town of Altona Wind Park Law.
In the release, Noble CEO Walt Howard said, “Although this incident is exceedingly rare, it is reassuring to see that the setbacks worked as intended. We want our neighbors to feel confident that our windparks are designed and constructed with the public’s safety in mind.”
Efforts to remediate the site are under way. The company intends to release additional information as it becomes available.
By Dan Heath
Staff Writer
The Press Republican http://www.pressrepublican.com/homepage/local_story_074223331.html
15 March 2009
