September 23, 2014
England

Lightning-hit wind turbine blade to be replaced

By LCrudgington | Canterbury Times | Posted: September 22, 2014 | www.canterburytimes.co.uk

It is said that lightning never strikes twice – but it hit a turbine off the Kent coast at least three times.

Contractors are now set to replace a damaged blade on one of the 30 turbines at the Kentish Flats wind farm, off Herne Bay and Whitstable, to ensure it continues to work effectively.

Although the damage occurred more than three years ago, and was discovered during a routine maintenance inspection, the turbine was still generating electricity so the repair was not deemed urgent.

Workers from Vestas will remove the blade and fit the replacement the same day, using a jackup vessel from A2sea. The damaged blade will be taken to Esbjerg in Denmark where it will be assessed and repaired or recycled.

Willem van Dongen, Vattenfall’s head of offshore wind generation, said: “They say lightning never strikes twice but the blade on this turbine shows signs of multiple strikes. Replacing it means we can ensure it continues to generate clean power from the wind turbine for the long term.

“The blade weighs 6.7 metric tonnes and so we need a heavy crane to do the lift. Watching from Whitstable or Herne Bay over 8km away the public will be able to see high quality engineering in action – even if at times it may look like it’s in slow motion.”

The other 29 turbines, which started working nine years ago, show no significant damage.

Vattenfall will start building an extension of 15 turbines offshore next year.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/09/23/lightning-hit-wind-turbine-blade-to-be-replaced/