Suzlon investigating turbine fall in Brazil

BRAZIL: Suzlon has confirmed local reports of the collapse of a wind turbine in Brazil, but insists the remaining machines at the 25.2MW wind projects are safe to operate.

The Indian turbine manufacturer confirmed that one of its turbines crashed on 22 December 2015.

The turbine is part of the Embuaca wind farm in the Triari municipality of Ceará state. According to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly, the site comprises 12 Suzlon S95-2.1MW turbines.

In a local TV video taken after the crash, a tower section appears to have severed and the nacelle and rotor are splayed on the ground, in the sand dunes.

"There were no fatalities or injuries, and the site was cordoned off and secured," a Suzlon spokesperson  told Windpower Monthly in a written statement.

"As a precautionary measure, we have conducted an audit of all other turbines with similar configurations to ascertain the safety and operational parameters. No issues were recorded and all remaining [wind turbine generators] are operating," the spokesperson said.

Suzlon is "still investigating the incident and will review the results internally", it said. The company would not comment on wind speeds at the time of the incident or on possible causes.

According to the manufacturer's website, Suzlon has approximately 740MW installed in Brazil.

Collapses

This is the second turbine fall to be reported this winter. In December 2015, a Vestas V112-3MW turbine reportedly collapsed in Sweden.

Two blade drops were also reported in November 2015: a 2.3MW Bonus turbine blade fell into the sea off Denmark; and in France, the rotor of a Repower MD77-1500kW turbine fell off.

None of the incidents resulted in injury.