January 27, 2017
Pennsylvania

Ringer Hill turbine still shut down after losing blade

By Dylan Johnson | Daily American | January 26, 2017 | www.dailyamerican.com

Three of the 14 turbines on the Ringer Hill Wind Farm in Elk Lick Township are still shut down after one turbine lost a blade two weeks ago.

The 320-foot-tall turbine, which is owned by New Jersey Resources Clean Energy Ventures, dropped one of its 177-foot-long blades on Jan. 11, less than a month after it was installed.

Spokesman Mike Kinney said all of the turbines were shut down after the malfunction, but 11 have been put back into service after they were assessed by the manufacturer.

“The assessment of the other three turbines, including the one with the broken blade, is still ongoing,” he said. “The manufacturer is on-site conducting the assessment, which requires them to inspect the blades inside and out.

“For this, conditions have to be just right to ensure safety. At this time, they have not released a cause.”

He said in a previous interview that a more accurate assessment of the damage will be available after the manufacturer completes the inspection. No one was injured when the blade fell. Kinney said the blade landed at the foot of the turbine.

The Ringer Hill Wind Farm generates nearly 40 megawatts of power each year, which is enough to power 9,800 homes.

Iron Mountain, which has a massive storage facility in an abandoned mine in Butler County, purchases about 26.6 megawatts of power from the farm as part of a 15-year agreement

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/01/27/ringer-hill-turbine-still-shut-down-after-losing-blade/