LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]



Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Cape Breton wind turbine was regularly inspected before collapse 

Credit:  Inspections every 3 to 6 months done by manufacturer, with extensive checks every 4 years | By Brett Ruskin, CBC News | Posted: Aug 25, 2016 | www.cbc.ca ~~

There’s a good reason wind turbines don’t usually collapse.

Turbines, like the one that failed catastrophically in Cape Breton last week, get regular inspections and maintenance to keep them at peak performance.

Any issue with mechanical efficiency – or worse, downtime – results in a loss of profit.

The 20-storey-tall Enercon E-82 turbine that now lies bent over in a wooded area of Nova Scotia was inspected every three to six months by workers with the company.

Depending on the turbine’s maintenance cycle, the devices are inspected visually, tested for strong electrical connections or refilled with lubricants.

Collapse happened during component swap

Enercon officials would not confirm the length or specific details about its maintenance contract with Renewable Energy Services Limited (RESL), the main shareholder of the Point Tupper Wind Farm.

Enercon officials emphasize the collapse happened during a scheduled component exchange, not during construction, installation or regular operations.

While workers were replacing the component, an incident occurred, the company said. The workers quickly evacuated the site before the turbine’s tower buckled and sent the blades plummeting to the ground.

Some residents of Port Hawkesbury say they saw the turbine spinning unusually quickly before it fell.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association says this collapse was the first catastrophic failure of its kind in Canada.

Government does not inspect turbines

The turbine’s inspections and maintenance are done almost entirely without government oversight.

There is a rigorous approval process to receive provincial and federal authorization to build a turbine, including annual wildlife surveys and extensive community consultation.

But once a turbine is up, the government is relatively hands off.

“I can assure you that for the companies that are putting up these turbines, these are a significant investment,” said Michel Samson, Nova Scotia’s Minister of Energy.

The 11 turbines built at the Point Tupper Wind Farm reportedly cost at least $55 million to install.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who would want to put a turbine up with fear that it’s going to fall,” Samson said.

Dept of Labour working closely with the companies involved to see if there were any safety violations pic.twitter.com/kxxIJcEQxh
 – @Brett_CBC

Cause of collapse still not known

The government says it is still working closely with Enercon to determine the cause of the collapse.

Wednesday afternoon, flat-bed trucks were seen entering the wind farm to retrieve shipping containers used to transport equipment and tools to the site.

There is no timeline for when the investigation will be complete, said Karine Asselin, a spokesperson for Enercon said Thursday.

Source:  Inspections every 3 to 6 months done by manufacturer, with extensive checks every 4 years | By Brett Ruskin, CBC News | Posted: Aug 25, 2016 | www.cbc.ca

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share

Tag: Accidents


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon