GE Vernova turbine blade bent in half at Iberdrola wind farm

Wind turbine blade has been damaged due to repeated storms and loss of electrical power, says Iberdrola

A blade on a recently commissioned GE Vernova wind turbine has been bent in half at a project developed by Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola.

Video and images released by Australian broadcaster 7NEWS - Central West on Monday show the strange sight of the uppermost facing turbine blade neatly folded down on itself at the Flyers Creek Wind Farm.

Flyers Creek is a 145MW wind farm around 20km south of the city of Orange in New South Wales, directly inland from Sydney.

The wind farm, developed by Iberdrola, features 38 GE Vernova wind turbines, each with 3.8MW capacity. It was powered up in April.

In a statement to 7NEWS, Iberdrola Australia said the turbine blade initially suffered damage during a storm in late June and was removed from service, with an exclusion zone established.

Last week, it said a combination of a “loss of electrical power and strong winds cause further damage to the blade,” prompting the exclusion zone to be expanded.

“A replacement blade has been ordered, and we are working with our operations and maintenance contractor to determine an appropriate return to service plan which will include the removal of the damaged blade.”

GE Vernova spokesperson told Recharge: “A recent weather event caused additional damage to a turbine blade that had already been taken out of service following a previous storm. We are working closely with our customer to replace the blade and safely return the turbine to operation.