May 29, 2013
Massachusetts

Hanover wind turbine close to operational

By Mark Burridge | Wicked Local Hanover | Posted May 29, 2013 | www.wickedlocal.com

The Hanover wind turbine is actually spinning more often than not these days.

But it still isn’t up and running, at least not officially.

“We’re doing deliberate tests to monitor how it is running,” said Hanover DPW Director Victor Diniak.

According to Diniak, the turbine is in use fairly often at this point, but more tests still need to be done before he can label the project as complete. Diniak said that when the turbine is working properly, it will turn slightly so that it is taking full advantage of the wind. Right now, tests are being done to see if it is turning correctly.

“It’s not like plugging in a fan,” Diniak said. “There are a lot of settings on the controls that need to be tweaked. We have to see how it adjusts to the wind.”

After the turbine was constructed and officially ready to test, it saw several months of delays because of multiple problems cropping up.

First, the tower had an issue with its “tip breaks,” a part on the end of the blades which deploys in an effort to slow down the blades if the wind gets them moving too fast. That problem was resolved but when the next series of tests started, the turbine’s hydraulic oil temperature got too high.

Diniak said the oil heat issue has been resolved.

“Every wind turbine is more or less custom built,” he said. “We’ve had mechanical issues we’ve needed to resolve in addition to electrical issues. We’re just walking through the various challenges that come up.”

Diniak said part of the problem is that when something goes wrong, it is often a problem that can only be fixed by going up to the top of the turbine.

“Literally part of the problem is that it is 150 feet in the air,” he said. “We’ve had a number of technicians give positive feedback. We just keep running into roadblocks.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/05/29/hanover-wind-turbine-close-to-operational/