Charlestown wind turbine to temporarily shut down for repairs
Boston Globe|Johanna Kaiser|April 20, 2012
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's wind turbine at the DeLauri Sewer Pump Station will be shut down in the coming weeks as a concrete ring and new piles are installed around the existing foundation. Workers performing a routine inspection of the turbine in February found that its foundation settled faster than expected, according to the authority.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's wind turbine at the DeLauri Sewer Pump Station will be shut down in the coming weeks as a concrete ring and new piles are installed around the existing foundation. Workers performing a routine inspection of the turbine in February found that its foundation settled faster than expected, according to the authority.
The Charlestown wind turbine is set to stop spinning for several weeks so its settling foundation can be reinforced.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's wind turbine at the DeLauri Sewer Pump Station will be shut down in the coming weeks as a concrete ring and new piles are installed around the existing foundation.
Workers performing a routine inspection of the turbine in February found that its foundation settled faster than expected, according to the authority. The turbine is still level and safe, and settling is expected with the floating foundations used in many wind turbines, the authority said in an announcement.
The turbine was still on Thursday while the contractor, Lumus Construction, and New England Foundation …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]The Charlestown wind turbine is set to stop spinning for several weeks so its settling foundation can be reinforced.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's wind turbine at the DeLauri Sewer Pump Station will be shut down in the coming weeks as a concrete ring and new piles are installed around the existing foundation.
Workers performing a routine inspection of the turbine in February found that its foundation settled faster than expected, according to the authority. The turbine is still level and safe, and settling is expected with the floating foundations used in many wind turbines, the authority said in an announcement.
The turbine was still on Thursday while the contractor, Lumus Construction, and New England Foundation Co. did preliminary work, said Ria Convery of the authority, in a phone interview.
Convery expects the turbine to be shut off in the next week or too when heavy equipment arrives and work begins on site. The project is expected to take about 10 weeks, but the authority hopes to complete work by the end of May.
"We're hoping by Memorial Day, but we're hoping," said Convery.
Convery said engineering firms from across the country have been consulted for this project and she does not expect settling to be a continuing problem.
When running at full capacity, the 1.5 megawatt turbine can save MWRA ratepayers $300,000 in costs a year, but Convery did not have a firm estimate of the savings that would be lost by shutting down the turbine.
The 364-foot turbine was installed in October using federal stimulus money, and the foundation work falls under its warranty.