Broken wind turbine still not fixed; Turbine could cost millions to fix

Credit: By Jessica Silva | Reporting by Pete Mangione | www.wpri.com 11 July 2012 ~~

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A wind turbine in Portsmouth stops spinning after a gearbox malfunction.

According to Gary Crosby, the Assistant Town Planner, oil found its way into the gearbox back in May. After testing a sample of the oil, it was discovered to have “an alarmingly high particulate value,” leading to a voluntary shut-down on June 18th.

In order to get the turbine up-and-running once more, the gearbox would need to be replaced.

The Portsmouth town council received a figure in the range of $206,000 from a company called Lumus. The aforementioned price is just for a single gearbox, but Lumus is willing to throw in a second box for free. A representative for the company says that gearbox failure is becoming a “national trend.”

In total, the project to restore the turbine could end up costing the town almost $1.5 million.

At the July 9th town council meeting, the issue was postponed to a future meeting, so there is no word on when the gearbox could be replaced.

Source: By Jessica Silva | Reporting by Pete Mangione | www.wpri.com 11 July 2012

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