December 15, 2011
Minnesota

Vandals shut down Lewiston wind turbines

Winona Daily News, lacrossetribune.com 14 December 2011

Vandalism temporarily shut down two commercial wind turbines near Lewiston.

Sometime between 10 a.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. Monday, someone broke into a substation secured by a 7-foot, barbed wire topped fence, according to the Winona County Sheriff’s Department.

To gain access, a lock was cut on the fence gate and the control building was entered. Once inside, the perpetrator cut a single fiber optic cable bundle that controlled the two turbines, shutting them down. Other equipment, including valuable electronics, was not removed or tampered with, according to the investigator’s report.

Though the vandalism shut down the turbines through Monday, they were operating again by Tuesday. Project leaders for the newly constructed wind farm said the cable is repaired but damage costs are unknown at this time.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/12/15/vandals-shut-down-lewiston-wind-turbines/