February 18, 2023
Illinois

Neighbors react after wind turbine collapses near Paxton

by: Bradley Zimmerman | Posted: Feb 17, 2023 | wcia.com

Security around the collapsed turbine is tight to prevent people from getting too close. But as of 5 p.m. on Friday, on-scene reporters saw no one at the collapse site, crews and trespassers alike.

Matt Tulis, a spokesperson for RWE Renewables, said the company is now turning to the recovery phase of the turbine, which includes figuring out if any parts of salvageable. They’ve had a drone in the area inspecting the area.
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Terry Lewis lives nearby and got a look at the turbine before and after it fell.

“I knew there was an issue there,” Lewis said. “You know, everything has been standing well since they built these towers and there must just been something underneath the ground. There could have been sand pit or something like that caused the tower to settle.”

After the tower stated leaning, Lewis said he saw the activity around it pick up.

“There was a few people driving by the last few days because they saw the tower leaning,” Lewis said. “Then, to my surprise, today it was on the ground.”

People living nearby could feel the vibrations caused by the impact and the sound could be heard three miles away.

Update: A viewer captured drone footage of the damaged to the wind turbine after the collapse:

Original article

The cleanup process is now underway in a Paxton wind farm after one of the turbines collapsed on Thursday.

WCIA crews are on the scene observing the on-site operations and speaking with locals and company representatives. This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

People started to notice something was wrong with the turbine at Pioneer Trail Wind Farm on Wednesday, when it started to noticeably lean forward. Crews from owner RWE Renewables Americas LLC eventually arrived to assess the situation and attempt to fix the turbine, which remained operational.

But on Thursday, the turbine crashed to the ground. People living nearby could feel the vibrations caused by the impact and the sound could be heard three miles away.

Matt Tulis, a representative from RWE Renewables, said a turbine collapsing is very rare. Nothing like this has ever happened at any wind farm they operate across the country.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2023/02/18/neighbors-react-after-wind-turbine-collapses-near-paxton/