"Wiring anomaly" found in fallen turbine
Press Republican|Andrea VanValkenburg|March 10, 2009
Noble Environmental Power officials say they have detected a "wiring anomaly" in two Altona wind turbines, including the one that snapped in half last Friday. As the preliminary investigation continues into how a massive turbine suddenly collapsed, Noble officials said this week that the entire wind park experienced a loss of power Friday and that two of its 65 turbines apparently malfunctioned.
Noble Environmental Power officials say they have detected a "wiring anomaly" in two Altona wind turbines, including the one that snapped in half last Friday. As the preliminary investigation continues into how a massive turbine suddenly collapsed, Noble officials said this week that the entire wind park experienced a loss of power Friday and that two of its 65 turbines apparently malfunctioned.
ALTONA - Noble Environmental Power officials say they have detected a "wiring anomaly" in two Altona wind turbines, including the one that snapped in half last Friday.
As the preliminary investigation continues into how a massive turbine suddenly collapsed, Noble officials said this week that the entire wind park experienced a loss of power Friday and that two of its 65 turbines apparently malfunctioned.
Each General Electric turbine is equipped with a system that is supposed to immediately shut down during power outages.
It was unclear what prompted the power loss.
Data suggests an unspecified wiring abnormality kept two turbines running and likely contributed to the collapse.
It was still unclear Tuesday how Turbine 42 broke …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]ALTONA - Noble Environmental Power officials say they have detected a "wiring anomaly" in two Altona wind turbines, including the one that snapped in half last Friday.
As the preliminary investigation continues into how a massive turbine suddenly collapsed, Noble officials said this week that the entire wind park experienced a loss of power Friday and that two of its 65 turbines apparently malfunctioned.
Each General Electric turbine is equipped with a system that is supposed to immediately shut down during power outages.
It was unclear what prompted the power loss.
Data suggests an unspecified wiring abnormality kept two turbines running and likely contributed to the collapse.
It was still unclear Tuesday how Turbine 42 broke in half and how badly the other turbine was damaged.
Witnesses have reported seeing the blades on at least one Altona turbine moving erratically Friday morning.
Noble officials refused to elaborate on their investigation Tuesday beyond the information in their latest news release.
General Electric officials confirmed they are conducting tests to inspect the wiring system on each Altona turbine.
A spokesperson with that agency was unsure Tuesday how many had been tested at that time.
The remaining turbines will remain shut down until they have been successfully tested.
A General Electric spokesperson said the company will continue to investigate the exact cause of the collapse but otherwise referred all comment to Noble, which operates several wind parks locally with a fleet of nearly 300 turbines.
Noble officials said "more information will be forthcoming."
In the latest release, Noble CEO Walt Howard said, "Noble is committed to the safe operations of our turbines.
"To that end, the Noble and GE teams have made an outstanding joint effort to ensure that the remaining fleet of Noble turbines functions safely and efficiently."
No one was injured during the collapse, which has sparked a new wave of controversy about the safety of local wind parks.