April 7, 2011
North Dakota

PSC hears more on wind tower destruction

KXMBTV Bismarck, www.kxnet.com 6 April 2011KXMBTV Bismarck, www.kxnet.com 6 April 2011

The company that operates a wind farm near Rugby found four turbines with problems similar to what caused one of its towers to disintegrate this winter.

Iberdola officials told the Public Service Commission this afternoon they discovered the problems during inspections after this tower lost its blades and center hub.

The company officials told PSC members they have beefed-up their inspection protocol in an effort to detect the alignment problem that caused the tower accident.

(Scott Winneguth) “the evidence so far suggests that there was a gap between the two mating services. We can tell because there’s a slight discoloration from corrotion that indicates moisture was present in between the two surfaces. So that misalignment puts abnormal stresses on that connection.”

Iberdola officials say they are inspecting the base of the failed tower to see if it can support a new top assembly so the tower can be put back into service.

The PSC ordered the company to report back when it has finalized its investigation into the accident.

No one was hurt in the incident.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/07/psc-hears-more-on-wind-tower-destruction/