Report of wind turbine fire draws crews
BOWMANS — Firefighters responded to a report of a wind turbine fire at the first commercial-size wind farm in Schuylkill County, Locust Ridge I in Mahanoy Township, Thursday afternoon, according to reports from the Schuylkill County Communications Center.
Paul Copleman, spokesman for Iberdrola Renewables, Wayne, which owns the wind farm, would not offer any details when contacted at 2:50 p.m. Thursday.
“We have been notified of an event at the Locust Ridge I Wind Farm. We are investigating the situation. And we’ll not be making any further comment until verified information becomes available. In the meantime, we’re focusing our efforts on the safety of our employees,” Copleman said.
In service since March 2007, this G87 turbine is one of the original 13 turbines that are part of Locust Ridge I. These turbines produce enough electricity to power 6,500 to 8,000 homes, Joseph B. Green, Weston Place, the wind farm project manager, said previously.
Manufactured by Gamesa Corp. in Pamplona, Spain, Turbine 12 is made up of a tower measuring 256 feet and three blades each 135 feet long. With blades fully extended, it stands 407 feet high, Green said.
Green was on site Thursday, but referred all questions to Copleman.
BY STEPHEN J. PYTAK
AND FRANK ANDRUSCAVAGE
STAFF WRITERS
15 May 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
Some possibly related stories:
- Firefighters respond to wind turbine fire in Mahanoy Township
- Locust Ridge wind turbine fire still under investigation
- Schuylkill County wind farm gets $59 million federal stimulus grant
- Official: Turbine fire sparked during maintenance
- 51 windmills will top local mountain; Massive project to stretch 10 miles
- Official gives explanations for idle wind towers
The copyright of this article is owned by the author or publisher indicated. Its availability here constitutes a "fair use" as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law as well as in similar "fair dealing" exceptions of the copyright laws of other nations, as part of National Wind Watch's effort to advance understanding of the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development. For more information, click here.
