'Serious event' | Vestas turbine collapses at Iberdrola wind farm in Australia | Operations at Alinta in Western Australia temporarily halted after V81 machine collapses for unknown reasons | By Bernd Radowitz | Recharge | 24 June 2022 | www.rechargenews.com
Operations at Iberdrola’s Walkaway wind farm at Alinta in Western Australia have been temporarily halted after a Vestas turbine collapsed at the site last week, with the cause still unknown.
“No one was near the wind turbine at the time of the incident and there are no injuries. The project’s remaining wind turbines have been temporarily paused,” Vestas said in a statement sent to Recharge.
“The area is secured, and Vestas will undertake investigations in close cooperation with Iberdrola to confirm the root cause of the incident.”
Iberdrola said turbine number 43 out of 54 Vestas V82 turbines collapsed at the site, with only limited property damages on the agricultural land on which the wind farm is built some 35km southeast of Geraldton, Western Australia.
The local landholders and their representatives were notified after the incident last week Wednesday. Iberdrola has also notified applicable regulators and WorkSafe WA has inspected the site and provided clearance for remediation works to start.
“The failure of Turbine 43 at Alinta Wind Farm is a serious event,” Iberdrola Australia chief executive Ross Rolfe said.
“We are currently working closely with regulatory bodies and the operations and maintenance contractor, Vestas, to understand the factors that have contributed to the failure of the turbine.
“The safety and wellbeing of our communities and our people will always be our first priority. At the proper time, the learnings from the investigation will be shared with industry to promote safe operations across Australia’s large and growing fleet of wind farms.”
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2022/06/25/vestas-turbine-collapses-at-iberdrola-wind-farm-in-australia/