Repairs under way for Fairhaven residents' wind turbine
South Coast Today|Beth Perdue |July 13, 2009
Despite sufficient wind, the propellers on a Fairhaven wind turbine have been motionless lately due to a mechanical malfunction in the turbine's tail. The residential turbine, owned by Andrew Avenue residents Michelle and Joe Letts, has been operating since last May and, at 92 feet high, is easily seen from Interstate 195.
Despite sufficient wind, the propellers on a Fairhaven wind turbine have been motionless lately due to a mechanical malfunction in the turbine's tail. The residential turbine, owned by Andrew Avenue residents Michelle and Joe Letts, has been operating since last May and, at 92 feet high, is easily seen from Interstate 195.
FAIRHAVEN - Despite sufficient wind, the propellers on a Fairhaven wind turbine have been motionless lately due to a mechanical malfunction in the turbine's tail.
The residential turbine, owned by Andrew Avenue residents Michelle and Joe Letts, has been operating since last May and, at 92 feet high, is easily seen from Interstate 195.
Phil Carvalho, owner of Beaumont Wind, the New Bedford company that installed the turbine, said he is waiting for parts from the manufacturer in order to repair the tail. He estimated it will be another two weeks or more before it is back in service.
Carvalho said he does not know what led to the failure but believes it was a substitute part used in the tail's construction.
"It's a mechanism that …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]FAIRHAVEN - Despite sufficient wind, the propellers on a Fairhaven wind turbine have been motionless lately due to a mechanical malfunction in the turbine's tail.
The residential turbine, owned by Andrew Avenue residents Michelle and Joe Letts, has been operating since last May and, at 92 feet high, is easily seen from Interstate 195.
Phil Carvalho, owner of Beaumont Wind, the New Bedford company that installed the turbine, said he is waiting for parts from the manufacturer in order to repair the tail. He estimated it will be another two weeks or more before it is back in service.
Carvalho said he does not know what led to the failure but believes it was a substitute part used in the tail's construction.
"It's a mechanism that basically holds the tail in place. It sheared and was not designed properly," he said.
"When we were first notified that the tailpiece was dangling, we got out there the very next day and took it down," he said.
The failure was not related to recent storms, he added.
According to Carvalho, Beaumont no longer recommends wind turbines for its residential customers because "the economics don't support it. You have to go too high and spend too much money to get power."
A more cost-effective turbine, according to Carvalho, would have to be about 10 times the size of the Lettses,' approximately 205 feet, and require a one-year wind study.
"We feel solar is better for residents," he said.
But there are no safety problems with the Lettses' turbine, he added.
"It was sited properly, it performs well, but it has a maintenance issue."