Carnage as Ecotricity Turbine Collapses
On Saturday night an Ecotricity wind turbine (similar to those being proposed at Silton in Dorset) at their Fen Farm site in Conisholme, North East Lincolnshire, suffered a catastrophic structural failure in the freezing conditions.
Two huge blades were severely damaged after apparently making contact with the tower. One blade fell to the ground only after shedding large pieces of debris from height and over a wide area.
The base of the tower now shows signs of a major impact as the blade smashed through the entrance structure at ground level before rolling into the neighbouring field.
Ecotricity emergency engineers arrived on site at 15.00 on January 4th to begin an examination of the damage and assess the cost of repairs needed.
The Ecotricity Press Department report that the cause is currently unknown.
Local Dorset residents are now demanding answers regarding the safety of the turbines proposed at Silton.
Chairman, Save Our Silton, Chris Langham said;
“These issues around wind turbine safety in the cold weather are not new.
“In December we reported on the potentially lethal ice that was thrown from blades at Whittlesey — Ecotricity’s own website acknowledged the risk of ice throw when it cited it as the reason not to go ahead with a recent proposal for a wind turbine at Manchester City stadium. The Fen Farm incident shows that there are other safety concerns.
“We hope that this incident will once more show planners the real problems over safety and design that Ecotricity’s Enercon turbines have and that the proposed site at Silton is just too close to houses to be safe.”
05 January 2009
For further information please visit our website www.saveoursilton.org or call 07968 049 832
Save Our Silton now has close to 500 local, individual and family members.
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy, Blade failure
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