www.windaction.org | facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss Burned turbine in Spain http://www.windaction.org/articles/20600 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT A burned turbine in the province of Zaragoza, Spain. Cause of the turbine failure is unknown. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20600 Blade throw in Holland http://www.windaction.org/articles/15922 Thu, 15 May 2008 23:20:42 GMT Newspaper report of a turbine accident near the provincial highway between the towns of Alkmaar and Schagen in NW Holland. One of the blades of a Vestas turbine, 3000 kgs and 23 meters in length, broke and landed next to the highway not hitting anyone though. At that time no cars were passing. Falling turbines are not an uncommon sight in Holland. In 2007, three turbines went down. http://www.windaction.org/articles/15922 Windmill blade break http://www.windaction.org/articles/14732 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:18:41 GMT The blade tip of a Gamesa G87 2.0 MW wind turbine broke off and was thrown 200 meters from the turbine. The blade tip measured 10-meters; smaller fragments were strewn in the fields surrounding the turbine. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14732 Windmill accident in Brittany http://www.windaction.org/articles/12310 Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:20:17 GMT http://www.windaction.org/articles/12310 Wind Turbine Leaking Oil Profusely http://www.windaction.org/articles/1853 Fri, 03 Mar 2006 16:07:53 GMT This turbine is located in Aragon province, Spain http://www.windaction.org/articles/1853 Damaged Turbine Crystal Rig wind farm near Dunbar (2) http://www.windaction.org/articles/241 Fri, 01 Apr 2005 05:00:00 GMT The Times April 16, 2005

Wind farm fears as blade snaps

By Katrina Tweedie

A TURBINE at a Scottish wind farm has broken down after one of its blades snapped off.

The 10-tonne turbine, one of 31 at the £80 million Crystal Rig wind farm near Dunbar, East Lothian, was destroyed last week when a mechanism to stop it spinning too fast failed. Onlookers reported strong winds and said one of the turbine blades flew off and hurtled into the countryside.

The 60ft high steel turbines are designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and owners, Fred Olsen Renewables, denied the breakdown was wind related. A spokesman said they were investigating the cause and that there had been little risk to people at the remote wind farm.

The turbines from German firm Nordex were installed in August 2004. It will cost an estimated £1.25 million to repair.

Anti-wind farm campaigners said the incident confirmed their fears about the danger of blades flying off wind turbines.

David Bruce, of the pressure group Scottish Wind Assessment Project, said: “There were high winds so the turbines were ‘feathered’, or locked so they couldn’t spin round. It was lucky nobody was walking below. This is only about the second incidence of this in the UK but it shows this is possible.”

]]> Britain The Times April 16, 2005 Wind farm fears as blade snaps By Katrina Tweedie A TURBINE at a Scottish wind farm has broken down after one of its blades snapped off. The 10-tonne turbine, one of 31 at the £80 million Crystal Rig wind farm near Dunbar, East Lothian, was destroyed last week when a mechanism to stop it spinning too fast failed. Onlookers reported strong winds and said one of the turbine blades flew off and hurtled into the countryside. The 60ft high steel turbines are designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and owners, Fred Olsen Renewables, denied the breakdown was wind related. A spokesman said they were investigating the cause and that there had been little risk to people at the remote wind farm. The turbines from German firm Nordex were installed in August 2004. It will cost an estimated £1.25 million to repair. Anti-wind farm campaigners said the incident confirmed their fears about the danger of blades flying off wind turbines. David Bruce, of the pressure group Scottish Wind Assessment Project, said: “There were high winds so the turbines were ‘feathered’, or locked so they couldn’t spin round. It was lucky nobody was walking below. This is only about the second incidence of this in the UK but it shows this is possible.” http://www.windaction.org/articles/241 Two wind turbines self-destruct in one week http://www.windaction.org/articles/23927 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:42:50 GMT Wind turbine blades rip loose near Esbjerg and southwestern Sweden, one landing on a hiking path A malfunction on a Vestas wind turbine in the town of Falkenberg on Sweden's southwest coast could have resulted in tragedy, as one of the structure's large blades flew off and landed on a track used by hikers. http://www.windaction.org/articles/23927 BP solar panel blaze raises concerns http://www.windaction.org/articles/21807 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:59:55 GMT Fresh concerns have emerged over the future of BP's alternative energy business after a fire broke out at one of the company's largest solar power installations in Germany. The incident on June 21 destroyed nearly 200 sq m of one of the world's largest roof-mounted solar panel arrays on a warehouse complex in Bürstadt, near Mannheim. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21807 Windmill manufacturer recalls blades; 10 U.S. installations affected http://www.windaction.org/articles/21106 Thu, 07 May 2009 03:35:58 GMT Officials at ReDriven Power Inc. are confident of their young company's continued success, but concede they've recently issued a recall on the blades of 10 turbines installed in the U.S. ..."We did have a blade problem," said president and CEO Joseph Ianni, when The AgriNews paid a visit to the firm's headquarters inside a former textile mill recently. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21106 Spinning to destruction http://www.windaction.org/articles/17801 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:15:24 GMT Wind power may be one of the cleaner, greener energy sources available, but turbine and blade failures point to dangers that were not anticipated, says Michael Connellan http://www.windaction.org/articles/17801 Suzlon to replace defective equipment worth $25 million http://www.windaction.org/articles/14456 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:47:01 GMT In what implies a Rs.1 billion ($25 million) hit on its balance sheet for the current quarter, leading wind power equipment-maker Suzlon Energy will refit wind turbine blades for a project in the US, the company said Monday. “The company will do a retrofit programme to resolve blade-cracking issues discovered during the operations of some of its S88 turbines in the US,” the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange Monday. http://www.windaction.org/articles/14456 Accident: A failure in a wind turbine caused a forest fire in Muros http://www.windaction.org/articles/5795 Tue, 17 Oct 2006 11:53:54 GMT A failure in one of the wind turbines owned by the Iberdrola company in the Pedregal Mountains, Esteiro (Muros), resulted in a forest fire that razed a hectare of the mountain. http://www.windaction.org/articles/5795 Eighty hectares burn with mount low and pine in a fire between Pétrola and Blond Corral http://www.windaction.org/articles/4479 Thu, 17 Aug 2006 16:05:37 GMT
Editor's Note: This translation is not great but this fire in Albacete, Spain was caused by a wind turbine. Apparently this is the second incident. ]]> The mount albaceteño returned to give a new scare yesterday. A aerogenerador of the Aeolian park of the Anorias in Pétrola began to burn on the four with afternoon and caused a forest fire in the place known like the Cord. Editor's Note: This translation is not great but this fire in Albacete, Spain was caused by a wind turbine. Apparently this is the second incident. http://www.windaction.org/articles/4479 Turbine Accidents: Update from Caithness Wind Farms Information Forum http://www.windaction.org/articles/1318 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT A compilation as of November 1, 2006 of turbine accidents in the USA and abroad by accident type, date, site, state/country and turbine model. http://www.windaction.org/articles/1318 Guidelines on the Environmental Risk of Wind Turbines in the Netherlands http://www.windaction.org/articles/209 Sun, 01 Feb 2004 05:00:00 GMT In the beginning of the nineties, ECN and consultants in the Netherlands were approached by local authorities and developers of wind farms with the question: “Is it safe to erect a wind turbine at this location?” http://www.windaction.org/articles/209 Assessment of Safety Risks Arising from Wind Turbine Icing http://www.windaction.org/articles/148 Thu, 02 Apr 1998 12:23:21 GMT "Developers and owners of wind turbines have a duty to ensure the safety of the general public and their own staff. However, there are currently no guidelines for dealing with potential dangers arising from ice thrown off wind turbines. This puts developers, owners, planning authorities and insurers in a difficult position. To rectify this situation, the work presented here has commenced in order to produce an authoritative set of guidelines. Initial work has resulted in the development of a risk assessment methodology which has been used to demonstrate that the risk of being struck by ice thrown from a turbine is diminishingly small at distances greater than approximately 250 m from the turbine in a climate where moderate icing occurs." http://www.windaction.org/articles/148 Wind Turbine Problems http://www.windaction.org/articles/11534 Sat, 25 Aug 2007 15:20:08 GMT The wind energy industry has been growing at nearly 30 percent per year for the last decade. The heavy push for more green energy has created a gold rush of sorts...which means buyer beware ... http://www.windaction.org/articles/11534 Burning turbine http://www.windaction.org/articles/17958 Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:35:51 GMT News report of a wind turbine at the Aeolian Park wind energy facility in Spain destroyed by fire. According to Iberdrola, the exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but is believed to be due to mechanical failure. Firemen, police and company personnel were on the scene. A 120 meter buffer around the turbine was established to ensure the safety of people and property near the fire. The fire did not impact the operation of the Aeolian Park in spite of the spectacular visible cloud column rising from the turbine.

Duration: 0 minutes 55 seconds

]]> News report of a wind turbine at the Aeolian Park wind energy facility in Spain destroyed by fire. According to Iberdrola, the exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but is believed to be due to mechanical failure. Firemen, police and company personnel were on the scene. A 120 meter buffer around the turbine was established to ensure the safety of people and property near the fire. The fire did not impact the operation of the Aeolian Park in spite of the spectacular visible cloud column rising from the turbine. Duration: 0 minutes 55 seconds http://www.windaction.org/articles/17958 Windmill disaster http://www.windaction.org/articles/19063 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:54:07 GMT A must see video clip documenting a Vestas turbine failure operating in Denmark. Formerly unreported is the degree to which turbine debris from the failed unit spread great distances from the site.

Duration: 1 minute 41 seconds

]]> A must see video clip documenting a Vestas turbine failure operating in Denmark. Formerly unreported is the degree to which turbine debris from the failed unit spread great distances from the site. Duration: 1 minute 41 seconds http://www.windaction.org/articles/19063 Turbine on fire http://www.windaction.org/articles/16908 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:08:34 GMT Turbine burns in Portugal.

Duration: 4 minutes 32 seconds

]]> Turbine burns in Portugal. Duration: 4 minutes 32 seconds http://www.windaction.org/articles/16908