July 22, 2008
Nova Scotia

RCMP turbine on the fritz again

WEST AMHERST – What was once fixed is now broken again.

The RCMP multi-million-dollar wind turbine is on the fritz again after being repaired last fall.

“There was a lightning strike that fried some components last year, but we believe this time it’s an electrical circuit inside the control room that blew out,” Const. Paul Calder of the Cumberland RCMP said recently.

Calder said officials from Atlantic Orient, who erected the turbine, have indicated this turbine is the only one that’s been having problems and that they are looking into. Calls to Atlantic Orient have not been returned.

Last summer, the turbine was damaged during a severe thunderstorm that fried the device’s electrical components.

When it was repaired last fall, improvements were also made to the turbine’s braking system. The turbine was erected in early May 2005 as part of the $2.3-million construction of the Cumberland RCMP detachment’s new home.

The 50-kilowatt, 24-metre tall turbine, constructed by Atlantic Orient of Dartmouth in conjunction with Black and MacDonald, is expected to provide approximately 55 per cent of the detachment’s power requirements.

It is also tied into the Nova Scotia Power grid.

By Darrell Cole

The Amherst Daily News

22 July 2008


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/07/22/rcmp-turbine-on-the-fritz-again/