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Some of P.E.I.’s wind turbines remain without power almost three weeks after Fiona
Credit: Rafe Wright · Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | Posted: Oct. 6, 2022 | Updated: Oct. 11, 2022 | saltwire.com ~~
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Summerside, P.E.I. – Wind turbines across Prince Edward Island kept their structural integrity after post-tropical storm Fiona hit the province on Sept. 23-24, but power remains off at some sites and some blades appear damaged.
In Summerside, an initial inspection found there was little damage to the four turbines. However, the city says they were turned off for safety reasons.
“We need to do a better inspection with binoculars and drones on the blades to make sure there is no cracking or splitting,” Greg Gaudet, director of municipal services for the city of Summerside told Saltwire Network on Sept. 28.
Further inspections were carried out over the week to ensure there was no other damage that may have been missed in the initial assessment.
“It’s hard to tell when you’re on the ground, you got to get up there and get close,” Gaudet said. “We have to do a full assessment before we can get the blades going again.”
Power at the four Summerside turbines was off for several days following the storm but was deemed safe and power was restored on Thursday, Sept. 29.
Minimal damage
The P.E.I. Energy Corporation (PEIEC) paused all its wind turbines late in the evening, Sept. 23, before the storm made landfall over Nova Scotia, it wrote in a statement to SaltWire Network on Oct. 5.
Early indications from the ground showed turbines across the province made it through the storm with minimal damage. The PEIEC-owned wind turbines were visually inspected shortly after the storm ended and no significant issues were noted.
Trees did fall, however, damaging the access roads and collector lines at the Hermanville wind farm and the station in Norway, P.E.I.
East Point and Hermanville wind farms are not currently running due to the surrounding damage
“There are trees down on both the collector lines at Hermanville and the transmission line in Eastern P.E.I. that are impacting return to service,” the statement read. “A more thorough inspection of the wind turbines at East Point and Hermanville will be completed before putting them back in run.”
At North Cape, 12 of 16 turbines are now running while the others are awaiting minor parts, such as wind vanes and anemometer cups lost during the storm. The Aeolus turbine in Norway is also running.
That said, the turbines would be providing little energy to the province’s grid, as the winds have been relatively low this week.
It is unclear as to when power will be restored at these locations as of Oct. 11.
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