Despite a fall of between 20 and 30 feet, the man who lost his footing on a ladder inside a wind turbine on Friday apparently was not seriously injured. The man's name has not been released by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department. ...the worker slipped off a ladder and, although tethered by a safety harness, the harness apparently failed, and the man fell.

A 60-year-old student succumbed Friday after losing conscousness during a wind turbine climb with his classmates at the Estherville campus of Iowa Lakes Community College Friday morning. The individual was in the middle of his assent when he became unconscious, according to those on the scene. ...The male student was transferred by ambulance to the hospital where he died.

A 50-ton structure fell 246 feet to the frozen ground on Saturday when the blades of a turbine under construction east of Waverly caught wind and started rotating at a speed reaching 60 rpm. The hub housing the generating components of the Cannon II turbine and the structure's three 177-foot blades collapsed after spinning for hours at the mercy of the wind, says Waverly Light and Power General Manager Diane Johnson. A gust caught the blades prematurely on Friday.

Part of a wind turbine under construction broke apart Saturday morning. The problem started Friday when construction crews were installing a second wind turbine for Waverly Light and Power. During the process, a construction error caused the rotor and blades to start moving in the wind prematurely - spinning uncontrollably and unable to stop until it broke.

The construction company, ICS of North Dakota, lifted the wind turbine rotor assembly, to which the blades attach, 246 feet high into place late yesterday afternoon. After it was lifted it was discovered the blades were not ‘feathered' or turned properly so they could not catch the wind. In the position the blades are in, the wind caught the blades causing them to spin. When this was discovered, the Bremer county sheriff's department was notified and all personnel were evacuated, including two homeowners who were outside of the recommended danger zone.

A North Dakota based construction company is facing three proposed penalties following a deadly Iowa wind farm accident last October. ..."The employer did not ensure the all terrain fork truck operators were competent and capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards." IOSHA claims Wanzek "did not instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations.

The worker is an employee of Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer. A spokesman with that company said the incident was under investigation and details would be provided when they became available. Olavarria said the worker was outside the turbine in front of its nose when the explosion and fire occurred. It's not clear what caused the explosion or what burned, but the turbines do have lubricating oil inside, she said.

The Sac County, Iowa Sheriff's office says they're investigating what caused a semi to start a chain reaction accident that sent a utility pole into an Early, Iowa restaurant. Authorities say 38 year-old Glen Forbes was driving a trailer loaded with wind turbine blades when the rear steering malfunctioned.

Officials from Florida Power and Light Energy have teamed with the manufacturer of wind turbines in an attempt to learn what started a fire that destroyed a turbine Oct. 3 at the Hancock County Wind Farm. ..."We have a large number of these units," said Florida Power and Light spokesman Steve Stengel. "It has never happened before, so we believe it is a very isolated incident."

A wind turbine south of Garner burned Wednesday morning causing two of the blades to fall off. ...He said the fire burned for half an hour to 45-minutes before the blades fell off. “When the blades fell, there was all kinds of debris flying all over the place,” he said.

AMES, Iowa -- Wind turbines generate power, but one was rendered powerless when it was knocked over by wind Friday. Nearly 800 MidAmerican Energy customers were without power on Friday morning in Wright County and school administrators had to cancel classes. There was a flicker of lights before the 100-foot tower supporting a wind turbine came crashing to the ground.

Two electrical workers were treated and released at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center last week after they were rescued following a fire at one of the MidAmerican Energy turbines just south of Schaller.