A huge 300ft wind turbine, valued at £20 million crashed to the ground and broke up at a farm near Bridgend, South Wales, as nearby residents claimed hearing a sound like "thunder" | By Cathy Owen, John Jones & Tim Hanlon | Mirror | 16 Feb 2022 | www.mirror.co.uk
Residents have told how they heard a sound like “thunder” as a massive 300ft wind turbine collapsed in ferocious winds and split apart.
The turbine, at a wind farm near Gilfach Goch, Bridgend, in South Wales broke apart in stormy weather on Monday morning.
Photos taken at the Pant Y Wal wind farm show the huge turbine lying on the ground, separated from its base with its blades completely destroyed, reported WalesOnline.
Local residents heard loud noises coming from the wind farm early on Monday and now an investigation is under way into how it happened to the £20 million turbine.
One person said: “It was around 7am and fairly dark. My wife has stables about half a mile from the wind farm. She said she heard odd pulsing noises and then heard the crash about 30 minutes later.”
Another resident said she thought was it was “thunder”.
She wrote: “A wind turbine fell over in the wind farm on my village this morning and I thought it was thunder and lighting but how the hell does a wind turbine fall over?
“Apparently it was creaking and banging all night before it collapsed and one woman thought it was her neighbour’s tumble dryer.”
A spokeswoman for wind turbine manufacturers Nordex said: “Unfortunately an incident occurred at the Pant Y Wal wind farm in Wales.
“On Monday, a N90/2500 turbine collapsed. No persons were injured. The only material damage that has occurred as a result of the incident is to the turbine itself.
“All necessary safety measures have been implemented immediately after the incident.
“A team of local Nordex specialists with experts from Nordex main office are currently investigating the root cause of the incident together with the wind farm owner. As yet, no reliable statement can be made as to the underlying cause of the collapse.”
There are 29 similar turbines at the Pant Y Wal wind farm, 21 of which have been in operation since end of 2013, including the collapsed turbine.
It comes as two huge storms are set to batter the UK this week, with amber and yellow warnings now in place on Wednesday and Thursday.
Storm Dudley is expected to affect the UK on Wednesday night and Thursday, bringing a period of very strong and disruptive winds, while Storm Eunice is likely to hit on Friday, leading to more very strong winds that could cause significant disruption.
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URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2022/02/16/massive-wind-turbine-crashes-to-ground-with-horrifying-thud-amid-ferocious-gales/