July 16, 2013
Massachusetts

Glitch lets turbines run at night

STEVE URBON | July 16, 2013 | www.southcoasttoday.com

FAIRHAVEN – Technical communications problems meant that Fairhaven Wind’s turbines were both in operating mode Saturday and Sunday during nighttime hours when they are supposed to be idle, company president Gordon L. Deane said in a statement late Monday.

The north turbine had been serviced since Thursday and operated little through Saturday, he said. But technicians on-site left it in “ready” mode at 7:30 p.m., which for safety reasons cannot be overridden by remote control.

Technicians double-checked the status at 11 p.m. and discovered both turbines in operating mode, Deane said. The south turbine could be shut down but the north turbine could not. It continued to turn slowly, generating a small fraction of its capacity.

“The low production is due to very light winds, meaning the turbines would not have operated during the vast majority of the night anyway,” he said.

On Sunday evening, problems cropped up again and at 7 p.m. a remote command failed to stop the north turbine, so technicians were sent to the site.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/07/16/glitch-lets-turbines-run-at-night/