Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Wind turbine causes turmoil over weekend
Credit: JACKIE ALBRECHT, NEWS EDITOR | The Wartburg College Circuit | www.wartburgcircuit.org 23 February 2009 ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
A wind turbine’s blades and rotor fell to the ground Saturday afternoon. Homeowners near the site were evacuated as a precaution and no injuries were reported, according to a Waverly Light and Power Co. press release.
ICS, the company constructing the wind turbines, discovered shortly after building the turbine Friday that the blades were not feathered, or turned correctly, and therefore the wind was causing the blades to spin.
According to the Waverly Light and Power Co. press release, “the rotor and blades on the unit are spinning and cannot be stopped. The spinning is weakening the structure and it could come apart and fall down at some point in time.”
After this was discovered, two homeowners were evacuated and the roads near the turbine were closed. Waverly Light and Power Co. took other precautions in dealing with the turbine malfunction.
“We visited the law center so dispatchers would have first-hand knowledge of the situation. We felt that if the turbine fell to the ground during the night, people who heard the loud noise would be scared and call 911,” General Manager of Waverly Light and Power Diane Johnson said in a press release.
A turbine can only experience a feathering problem during the preliminary stage of constructing the unit. This is due to the fact that not all of the parts have been assembled.
A turbine can be stopped multiple ways once it is operating, according to the Waverly Light and Power Co. Press release.
The utility was one of two turbines built over the past two weeks. The turbines are located just east of Waverly.
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: