News
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Safety and Canada
Three months after the Ripley Wind Farm went online in December, 2007, Dave Colling's phone started ringing.
Three of his neighbours were seeing doctors about recurring ear aches. They knew Colling, a former dairy farmer who lives within two kilometres of the turbines near the southern Bruce County community, had an interest in and could test for what he calls "electrical pollution."
"It's like living inside a microwave. It radiates," Colling told more than 100 people Tuesday night in Keady.
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Impact on People]
Work will get under way this week to repair a wind turbine damaged by a fire last month at the Kent Hills wind farm in Albert County, roughly 30 km southwest of Moncton.
One of the 32 wind turbines at the site caught fire on the morning of Aug. 8, and it's been offline since.
Also filed under [
Structural Failure]
TransAlta Corp. is still investigating what caused a fire last month that destroyed one of its turbines at the Kent Hills Wind Farm, a company spokesman says. ...Lightning has been ruled out as a factor in the Aug. 8 fire.
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Structural Failure]
The threat of Hurricane Bill has workers at New Brunswick's first commercial wind farm busily attempting to protect the blackened remains of one of its turbines.
A major fire damaged one of the 32 turbines at the Kent Hills wind farm on Aug. 8.
The burnt-out wind turbine still sits atop its perch in Albert County two weeks after a fire grounded its power generation capabilities.
New Brunswick's first commercial wind farm will lose several weeks of electricity output from one of its 32 turbines after a major fire damaged the towering structure on the weekend.
The blackened shell of the wind turbine, much of its white coating peeled away, was obscured by fog and clouds at the TransAlta wind farm in Albert County.
Also filed under [
Structural Failure]
New Brunswick's first commercial wind farm will lose several weeks of electricity output from one of its 32 turbines after a major fire damaged the towering structure on the weekend.
The blackened shell of the wind turbine, much of its white coating peeled away, was obscured by fog and clouds at the TransAlta wind farm in Albert County on Monday.
Also filed under [
Structural Failure]
One of the 32 wind turbines operating at the Kent Hills wind farm caught fire over the weekend. ...A passer-by saw smoke and called the fire department.
Officials haven't been able to confirm the cause of the fire yet.
Vestas, the company that supplies the turbines, will have a team on site today to try and determine what happened.
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Structural Failure]
Turbine fire contained and under investigation at Transalta's Kent Hills wind farm
August 8, 2009 by TransAlta Corporation
August 8, 2009 by TransAlta Corporation
TransAlta Corporation today announced at approximately 8:00 am (eastern time) a fire occurred at a single turbine located at its Kent Hills wind farm in New Brunswick.
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Structural Failure]
Kingsville council has approved the sites for 19 wind turbines east of Cottam but delayed a decision on three others because of concerns over two nearby air strips.
Council agreed Monday to 19 site-specific bylaws for turbines as the public got to see Brookfield Power Corporation's location for 22 wind turbines. ..."Flying by these would be dangerous," Ronald Bell said Tuesday.
Turbulence is the concern.
Also filed under [
Zoning/Planning]
Turbine loss hits up to 300 C.B. homes; Lightning damaged equipment
June 25, 2009 by Judy Myrden in Chronicle Herald
June 25, 2009 by Judy Myrden in Chronicle Herald
Seven wind turbines in Cape Breton are at a standstill after equipment was damaged by lightning.
Bill Wasson, president of Confederation Power Inc., said the turbines in Lingan were damaged Tuesday when the lightning hit a substation near where the turbines are located.
Seven wind turbines in Cape Breton are at a standstill after being damaged by an electrical storm.
Brian Robin, chief operating officer for Confederation Power, said the turbines in Lingan were damaged by a lightning strike shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph public health directors are asking the recently launched Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion to investigate the effects of wind turbines.
"We have written our letter specifically recommending that they consider large population-based health studies," medical officer of health Dr. Nicola Mercer said yesterday. ...Increasingly, municipalities want higher levels of government to set standards and probe health concerns like noise and electromagnetic disturbances.
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Impact on People]
Bill Fish wants the Municipality of Chatham-Kent to investigate homemade windmills after his neighbour's device came crashing through his roof during yesterday's high winds.
He was shocked awake around 3 a.m. when an eight-foot-long wooden blade penetrated the roof, before piercing through the ceiling and wall in a sewing room of his Dufferin Avenue home, located outside of Wallaceburg in Chatham Township.
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Impact on People|
Structural Failure]
Lakeshore OK's wind farm; Zoning approval granted over objection of airstrip owner
February 10, 2009 by Gary Rennie in The Windsor Star
February 10, 2009 by Gary Rennie in The Windsor Star
A $30-million wind turbine project that threatens an airstrip owned by legendary Spitfire fighter pilot Jerry Billing got zoning approval Monday from town council in a 6-2 vote. ...Erik Billing told council that area pilots would be at risk trying to thread their way through some of the 120-metre high turbines just west of the airstrip. ...Essex County's official plan amendment dealing with alternative energy calls for a four-kilometer buffer around airstrips registered with Transport Canada.
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Zoning/Planning]
One of the blades of a Suez Energy North America V-90 wind turbine situated approximately 1,600 feet away, between her house and the Northumberland Strait, was damaged. Pieces were dangling from the blade and other pieces were strewn throughout a field, right up to her back door. ...Sabota reported that blades on two of the three turbines in Suez Renewable Energy North America's Norway wind park sustained some damage.
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Structural Failure]
The oil cleanup at Dawson Point near Marysville was finished Friday afternoon, but residents in the area are still not allowed to drink from their wells. ...About 396 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled Wednesday morning during fueling of the Sea Hound, a tugboat operated by Nadro Marine Services Ltd., a contractor based in Port Drove, Ontario. ...The tugboats are used to push barges loaded with supplies and parts from Ogdensburg for Canadian Hydro Developers Inc.'s 86-turbine Wolfe Island Wind Project. So far, 28 wind turbines have arrived.
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New York]
Oil spill sullies Wolfe Island; Residents advised not to drink water
October 3, 2008 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily Times
October 3, 2008 by Jaegun Lee in Watertown Daily Times
According to Canadian Renewable Energy Corp., three to four barrels of diesel fuel were spilled around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. The fuel was being transferred between tanks on Sea Hound, a vessel operated by Nadro Marine Services Ltd., a contractor based in Port Drove, Ontario. Nadro Marine has been transporting wind turbines from Ogdensburg for the 86-turbine Wolfe Island Wind Project. ...Mark O. Mattson, president of the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, an environmental advocacy group based in Toronto, finds the incident ironic.
"It's a bit of a shock. The whole purpose of the wind power project was to help the environment," he said.
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Impact on People|
New York]
About 10 households on an island near Kingston, Ont., have been told to drink only bottled water after a tugboat spilled about 1,500 litres of fuel near shore.
The diesel fuel spilled into Lake Ontario near Wolfe Island around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday from a boat carrying equipment for a controversial wind turbine project.
Some residents have fought hard against the project, saying they are concerned about the environmental effects of installing 86 turbines on such a small island.
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New York]
High winds are making it difficult to repair wind turbines at East Point in Prince Edward Island.
Six of 10 turbines on the site were shut down recently when problems developed in their gearboxes. One turbine has been repaired, but strong winds are making it difficult to work on the other five. The axis of the turbine is about 50 metres above ground, and a special crane had to be transported to the site to assist the work. ..."Once in a while you get a component failure, and we've obviously got six of them. The Vestas company that builds these are a very reliable company."
Also filed under [
Structural Failure]
The issue of wind turbines in Chatham-Kent continues to linger.
Council put off the issue of setbacks at its May 5 meeting and asked the health unit for more information about the devices.
Council has already approved a wind turbine project in the Port Alma area, but is looking to establish a policy in anticipation of future applications for turbines.
The municipality has the potential to be host to 250 turbines.
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Impact on People]