Wind turbine collapses at wind farm in Barton County

NASHVILLE, Mo. — A wind turbine collapsed Wednesday morning at the North Fork Ridge Wind Farm in Barton County, but no one was hurt and utility officials say the collapse hasn’t affected electricity generation ahead of a winter cold snap.

Liberty officials said in a written release that the incident, reported to them at 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, occurred just off Missouri Highway 126 and Route O in Barton County.

“Crews were dispatched and discovered a wind turbine with structural damage,” Liberty said in a written release Thursday. “The site ... was secured for safety. No individuals were near the site at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported.”

Liberty said crews were at the scene inspecting the wreckage and also are working with the wind turbine manufacturer to evaluate the damage and determine a cause of the collapse.

“Once the initial assessment is complete, we will have a better understanding of the timeframe for cleanup and repairs,” Liberty said. “North Fork Ridge Wind Farm remains online and generation at the facility is not impacted.”

The North Fork Ridge Wind Farm is part of a network of three wind farms built by Liberty in Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri designed to produce about 600 megawatts of power.

The North Fork farm, located in Barton County along Missouri highways 126 and 43, and the Kings Point Wind Farm in part of Jasper County as well as parts of Dade and Lawrence counties, each have 69 wind turbines that are 400 feet tall from the ground to the hub and 600 feet to the tip of a turbine blade when it is at its highest point.

The Neosho Ridge Wind Farm was built with 139 wind turbines at the same time in Neosho County, Kansas, north of Parsons.

Construction took place in 2020, and the three wind farms went online in early 2021.

“This incident does not impact our preparations for the forecasted extreme weather,” Liberty said in its statement. “Liberty crews at our plants and working on our power delivery system begin preparing ahead of winter weather to help ensure safe and reliable energy for our customers. Efforts include increasing fuel storage levels and preventing ice and snow buildup that could impact our generation units at our power plants; monitoring wind turbines, which include equipment that allows them to perform in extreme temperatures, for icing; and enhancing staffing levels to speed outage response and respond to customer needs.”