June 19, 2012
Illinois

Wind turbine found damaged in Iroquois County

Will Brumleve | Paxton Record | www.paxtonrecord.net 18 June 2012

SHELDON – Damage to a wind turbine near Sheldon in Iroquois County was discovered over the weekend, and officials for E.On Climate & Renewables North America said Monday they would be “working with the manufacturer to figure out what happened.”

E.On officials described the damage to the turbine – one of nearly 100 that are part of the firm’s 150-megwatt Settlers Trail Wind Farm – as a “rare event for us.”

“It doesn’t happen very often,” said Matt Tulis, communications manager for the Chicago-based wind farm developer.

A witness to the damage told the Paxton Record in an email that the 1.6-megawatt turbine was located five to six miles east of Watseka on Iroquois County Road 2700 East, just off of U.S. 24.

“One of the blades looks like it has peeled back and wilted over, and there is debris lying around the base of the turbine,” the witness said in the email. “Part of the blade that came down is laying a distance away from the base in the field.”

Tulis said his firm is investigating how the damage occurred and plans to contact GE, the manufacturer of the turbine, as part of its investigation. He said the investigation may take a few days.

“We’re working with the manufacturer to figure out what happened and to figure out a way to keep it from happening again,” Tulis said Monday.

The damaged turbine has been taken out of operation, Tulis said. No other turbines were found damaged.

Tulis also said there has been no property damage reported in the area of the damaged turbine other than the turbine itself. Nobody was injured, he added.

The Settlers Trail Wind Farm was built last spring and is the second operational wind farm in Illinois for E.On. The firm also completed its Pioneer Trail Wind Farm near Paxton last fall.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/19/wind-turbine-found-damaged-in-iroquois-county/