Data indicate turbine operated normally before collapse
Credit: By JENNIFER BOGDAN, Observer-Dispatch, www.uticaod.com 6 January 2010
FENNER — No unusual conditions were recorded in the internal computer of a 200-foot-tall turbine prior to its collapse last week at Fenner Wind Farm, officials said Wednesday.
Hank Sennott, a spokesman for Enel North America, the company that operates the wind farm, said analysis of data found in the turbine’s computer showed:
– The turbine had been operating normally before it crashed.
– The blades did not strike the turbine’s tower.
– The rotational speed of the blades was “reasonable” at the time of its collapse.
Those findings suggest that the accident did not occur under the same circumstances that caused another turbine to crash in March 2009 at the Noble Altona Windpark in Northern New York, Sennott said.
The crashes in Altona and Fenner both followed power outages and involved turbines manufactured by General Electric. However, Noble Enviornmental Power, the company that operates the Altona operation, said its turbine spun out of control due to a wiring anomaly.
“It’s not that situation at all,” Sennott said, who declined to discuss any other possible causes until an investigation is complete, which likely won’t be until the end of January.
The turbine that crashed at about 4 a.m. on Dec. 27 was one of 20 on the wind farm located northeast of Cazenovia. The wind farm has been in operation since 2001 and supplies enough electricity to serve at least 10,000 homes.
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
Some possibly related stories:
- Official: Conditions ‘normal’ before turbine collapse
- Enel: Turbine collapse could have ’significant impact’ on wind industry
- Cleanup has begun at turbine collapse site
- Enel hires consultant to help probe Fenner turbine collapse
- Safety oversight lacking at turbine collapse site
- Cause of collapse at Fenner wind farm still unknown as investigation continues
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.
