News
Category:
Structural Failure
With $10 billion in DOE stimulus loan guarantees set to expire, president reportedly eyes billions more for Solyndra-style "green jobs"
September 8, 2011 in House Energy and Commerce Committee
September 8, 2011 in House Energy and Commerce Committee
Given the failure of the program's flagship guarantee to Solyndra, Committee leaders are concerned that DOE will rush to dole out the remaining $10 billion in loan guarantees in the next three weeks, especially in light of media reports that the President is poised to push for even more funding for "green jobs."
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies|
USA]
Bay City DEQ wind turbine might have a gear box failure
September 7, 2011 by Andrew Dodson in Booth Mid-Michigan
September 7, 2011 by Andrew Dodson in Booth Mid-Michigan
According to Kevin King, chief of field operations and facilities section for all DEQ offices across the state, the turbine may have a gear box failure. The DEQ hired the turbine's original manufacturer to climb the tower and take a peek to see what was wrong, but that proved to be unsuccessful.
Also filed under [
Michigan]
The six-foot blade, part of a turbine that only became fully operational last week, hit a staff member's car, damaging its roof.
The accident is an embarrassment to the East and North Herts NHS Trust which opened the £7.9m car park on Friday with much fanfare, lauding its green credentials.
Residents reported to the National Weather Service that two wind turbines were damaged. One had a propeller bent in half and the second had a propeller with the tip snapped off.
Lightning struck the turbine shortly after midnight, pelting trucks parked below the machine with debris, according to various reports. Wastewater plant personnel successfully shut down the turbine a few hours later, safety personnel said. ...The 400-kilowatt turbine is the second of two erected by NexGen, which became operational in early 2010.
Wind turbine erupts into flames southwest Of Abilene
August 26, 2011 by Wayne McCormick in KTXS News
August 26, 2011 by Wayne McCormick in KTXS News
ECCA Fire Chief Gary Young said the fire started in the wind turbine tower and then spread to grass around the tower.
On Aug. 9, a new blade was attached to the tower's hub assembly, Hill said. He said the wind tower isn't quite ready for operation yet because some repairs need to be completed on the other two blades that were slightly damaged when the blade broke.
Also filed under [
North Dakota]
Earlier this year one of the structures on the site, which is England's largest on-shore wind farm, had to be shut down due to heat damage as a result of a fire caused by an electrical fault.
Also filed under [
UK]
Construction crews will have to assess the damage to a wind turbine that caught fire in Missaukee County.
Meeting the challenge of wind turbine blade repair
July 18, 2011 by George Marsh in Renewable Energy Focus
July 18, 2011 by George Marsh in Renewable Energy Focus
With a growing number of composite wind turbine blades now in service, rotor blade maintenance is becoming a major issue. George Marsh looks at the techniques used to inspect and repair blades and investigates a new system designed to speed up the repair process.
Also filed under [
Safety]
Hill said the cooperative is investigating the cause of the wind turbine's failure.
There was a storm with high winds the day of the failure but whether it attributed to the wind turbine's failure is not known at this time.
Also filed under [
North Dakota]
Iberdrola says falling Suzlon Energy turbine blades were one-time accident
May 18, 2011 by Natalie Obiko Pearson in Bloomberg News
May 18, 2011 by Natalie Obiko Pearson in Bloomberg News
Iberdrola suspended operations at the 150-megawatt wind farm in Rugby, North Dakota after blades from a Suzlon S88 turbine fell from their mount, the company said on March 21. The same model suffered cracked blades starting in 2007, which had prompted a $100 million global retrofit.
Also filed under [
North Dakota]
Stengel said broken blades occur occasionally with one happening in May 2010. The blade was removed in the last 1½ weeks. It shattered in mid-March.
Wind Farm malfunctions have been making news lately with the most recent incident occurring near Wilton last weekend, when a blade peeled off like a banana after strong winds and blizzard conditions.
Also filed under [
Safety|
North Dakota]
"I would be worried to send my kids up anywhere around on there. I mean, even up onto the roads. The towers are close enough to the roads that if they`re up there doing something that something could happen, in the winter, the ice (could) fly off and hit one of them or, you know, even for their safety out here in the yard."
Also filed under [
Safety|
North Dakota]
While Windshare's original investors split dividend payments of $32,000 from the sale of power in 2005, profits since then have been ploughed back into the turbine for maintenance, Ms. Saxe said, adding the bearing replacement will cost $200,000.
Also filed under [
Canada]
For 2010, the turbine had revenue of $58,439, and rang up maintenance costs of $18,291. It didn't release statements including interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The current repairs will cost more than $200,000.
The turbine's initial cost was $1.8 million.
Also filed under [
Canada]
Inspectors will be out Tuesday afternoon to determine an official cause. Little believes a crack in the metal 120 feet in the air, mixed with the high winds caused the crash and $30,000 dollars in damage.
Also filed under [
Ohio]
For the time being, while the cause of Sunday's collapse is being investigated, the district's other turbines will remain shut down as well as a precaution.
Also filed under [
Ohio]
Companies say 'singular' failure caused ND wind turbine rotor, blades to fall
April 11, 2011 by Dale Wetzel in Associated Press
April 11, 2011 by Dale Wetzel in Associated Press
The March 14 accident north of Rugby will prompt more frequent inspections of other turbines, said Scott Winneguth, for Iberdrola Renewables Inc. ...Winneguth told North Dakota's Public Service Commission that investigators were unsure whether the problem resulted from the turbine's operation or reflected an assembly flaw.
Also filed under [
North Dakota]
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