Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Repair resumes on wind turbines in Waverly
Credit: By Jim Offner, Cedar Valley Business, wcfcourier.com 3 November 2011 ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
WAVERLY, Iowa – Nearly three years after a mishap caused by wind interrupted construction of twin turbines on the city’s east side – and a subsequent lawsuit against a contractor – Waverly Light and Power has resumed the project.
Early Tuesday, a massive crane lowered a long tubular section onto the foundation of Cannon II, the second of two towers going in.
Officials thought the project would be completed in 2009. The first turbine, Cannon I, went up without incident about a quarter-mile away.
The job on the second turbine ground to a halt after workers for Industrial Contract Services, based in North Dakota, placed a 17-ton rotor assembly atop the 246-foot tower. A blast of wind spun the blades prematurely, according to Waverly Light and Power, and all but the base of the turbine fell to the ground.
Waverly Light and Power filed a lawsuit against Industrial Contract Services the following June in Bremer County. That action further delayed the project, according to Diane Johnson, the utility’s general manager.
“The reason it’s taking so long is, as typically happens, the insurance companies that represent all the parties – the turbine manufacturer, the installation contractor, subcontractors – all got involved immediately and it became a pretty complex lawsuit,” Johnson said.
She declined to say what settlement the company is seeking through litigation but did note Waverly Light and Power hopes to recoup the $1.7 million cost of the project.
In the meantime, according to Johnson, a fund the company’s board set aside a number of years ago is covering the costs.
“We have not raised rates,” she added.
Johnson expects the lawsuit to wrap up early next year. The tower project is to be completed by September.
Shermco Industries, which is based in Irving, Texas, but has an office in Cedar Rapids, is now contractor for the project.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
Wind Watch relies entirely on User Funding |
(via Stripe) |
(via Paypal) |
Share: