January 7, 2015
Ireland

Local fears as blade shears off wind turbine

The Kerryman | Wednesday, January 7, 2015

A blade measuring up to 30 metres appears to have sheared off its parent turbine at a wind farm in Tursillagh outside Tralee – on the same weekend a turbine mysteriously collapsed in County Tyrone.

The incident has sparked fears locally about the safety of turbines being erected close to homes as the blade appears to have travelled well over 100m from the turbine before hitting the ground.

One man from the area who witnessed the scene in the aftermath said: “It looks to have come completely off the turbine… It must have come off in low wind speed too as you would expect much more damage in strong winds, the turbine would have been completely destroyed.”

The blade had been removed from the area by heavy machinery by Tuesday afternoon.

It does not appear to have been taken down as part of any works as the turbine was not in the correct position for such an operation and the tip of the blade was damaged in a way that suggests it impacted violently with the earth.

“It’s a private development on private land, and would be a matter for the developer,” a council spokesperson said when contacted.

The Health and Safety Authority initated enquiries on Tuesday.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/01/07/local-fears-as-blade-shears-off-wind-turbine/