Wolfe Island wind turbine blade falls off
Kingston Whig-Standard|Maegen Kulchar|Mar 20, 2026
A wind turbine blade on Wolfe Island unexpectedly detached and fell, leading to the shutdown of the wind farm operated by TransAlta. The incident, described as unusual by both the company and Mayor Judy Greenwood-Speers, occurred during high winds, though no injuries were reported due to the turbine's isolated location. An investigation by TransAlta is underway to determine the cause of the blade failure.
A wind turbine blade on Wolfe Island unexpectedly detached and fell, leading to the shutdown of the wind farm operated by TransAlta. The incident, described as unusual by both the company and Mayor Judy Greenwood-Speers, occurred during high winds, though no injuries were reported due to the turbine's isolated location. An investigation by TransAlta is underway to determine the cause of the blade failure.
“This is very surprising to them (Transalta) too, in that, it's an unusual occurrence,” added Wolfe Island mayor, Judy Greenwood-Spears.
Wind farms on Wolfe Island have been turned off after a blade from one of the turbines ripped off sometime Monday.
The mayor of Wolfe Island, Judy Greenwood-Speers, got the call Tuesday from TransAlta, the company that operates the farms.
“It seems that the turbine blade fell straight to the ground in front of the turbine, so that’s good and also unusual,” said Greenwood-Speers.
There are 86 turbines that have been operating since 2009. She said over the past 17 years, nothing like this has ever happened.
“This is very surprising to them (Transalta) too, in that, it’s an unusual occurrence,” added …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]“This is very surprising to them (Transalta) too, in that, it's an unusual occurrence,” added Wolfe Island mayor, Judy Greenwood-Spears.
Wind farms on Wolfe Island have been turned off after a blade from one of the turbines ripped off sometime Monday.
The mayor of Wolfe Island, Judy Greenwood-Speers, got the call Tuesday from TransAlta, the company that operates the farms.
“It seems that the turbine blade fell straight to the ground in front of the turbine, so that’s good and also unusual,” said Greenwood-Speers.
There are 86 turbines that have been operating since 2009. She said over the past 17 years, nothing like this has ever happened.
“This is very surprising to them (Transalta) too, in that, it’s an unusual occurrence,” added Greenwood-Speers.
On Monday a blade from a wind turbine on Wolfe Island broke off. TransAlta, the company who runs the farms, is currently investigating. Supplied photo
She was taken to the location where the blade fell, which was between 4th and 5th Line Road, just south of Base Line Road, on Wolfe Island.
Due to the wide-open space where the turbine was built, no one was injured. There are no nearby buildings in the vicinity of the turbines for cautionary reasons.
“A turbine at TransAlta’s Wolfe Island wind facility experienced a blade failure during high wind conditions. The site was immediately taken offline and the area around the turbine secured,” TransAlta wrote to the Whig in a supplied statement.
During high winds, the turbines are actually locked in place so they don’t spin out of control.
The company is now looking into how this happened.
“TransAlta has activated its incident management process and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the failure,” TransAlta confirmed.
At this point, the mayor said she’s not concerned but is curious as to how and why the blade broke off.
“To me it is a fluke in that when I see the report, if I find out that there’s something of concern, then I’ll get concerned,” said Greenwood-Speers, who added she’s more concerned about the ferry system.
She commended TransAlta for being so transparent when it came to communicating with the community about the failure.
“They’re doing everything right as far as I can see,” said Greenwood-Speers. “At this point in time, I’d have to give them an A+ for communication, not necessarily the same grade I would give our Ministry of Transportation.”
TransAlta said further updates would be provided as soon as more information becomes available.