Probe underway after another huge turbine blade snaps off at Scottish wind farm 

A probe is underway after part of a huge turbine blade sheared off at one of Scotland’s newest wind farms, triggering safety fears.

The end of a turbine blade has sheared off at Sneddon Law (Image: Rachel Connor/Facebook)

The incident happened at Sneddon Law Wind Farm in East Ayrshire – which operates 15 turbines and only opened earlier this year –when around a third of a 49 metre blade snapped off.

Campaigners warned “peoples’ lives are at risk” and have called for the wind farm to be shut down to “allow a thorough review” of the other 14 turbines that remain operational.

The Scotland Against Spin (SAS) campaign group says “by far the biggest number of incidents involving turbines are due to blade failure”. The group also pointed to recent blade damage at a wind farm in Shetland.

The £75million wind farm in a rural area of East Ayrshire is operated by Cheshire-based CWP Energy, with the turbines supplied by Danish manufacturer Vestas.

Vestas and CWP Energy confirmed the stricken turbine had been disabled and an investigation is underway, just months after the site became operational. They stressed it was being treated as an isolated incident and said drones had been deployed to inspect the remaining turbines.

A spokesperson for Vestas said: “We are working together with the customer to conclude on the root cause of the incident of the turbine. The area has been secured and the turbine is paused as a result of the incident while a blade replacement is being planned.”

East Ayrshire Council agreed there was no reason to treat it as anything other than an “isolated incident”, saying there “should be no public safety issues going forward”. The authority advised anyone with concerns to contact the Health & Safety Executive.

SAS spokeswoman Aileen Jackson, however, claimed “lives were being put at risk” by blade failures. She said: “The same thing happened at Viking wind farm in Shetland run by SSE Renewables just after it became operational in October – but they shut it down and kept the public away until investigations had been made, as would be the obvious thing to do.

The damaged blade at the Viking Wind Farm on Shetland (Image: Sustainable Shetland/Facebook)

“The reaction from East Ayrshire Council and Community Windpower is quite unbelievable – they are risking people’s lives here. Without a thorough review of the other turbines at the Sneddon Law site how can the local community feel safe?”

Vestas says the turbine at the Sneddon Law site is different to the model installed at the Viking wind farm in Shetland. But Dr Rachel Connor, of SAS, said it was “hugely concerning” there had been two separate incidents involving Vestas turbines in a short space of time.

She added: “This should clearly not simply be dismissed as an isolated incident in terms of potential manufacturing defect without a proper investigation of all the blades on these turbines. If this was a food product or aircraft fault with potential to cause serious illness or death, the product would be withdrawn or planes grounded until a full investigation had concluded.

“I feel the issue is that, at the moment, all the other turbines are still operating – how do we know that the same fault won’t occur in the other turbine blades and this time kill or maim someone when a bit gets flung off onto a public path.”

‘Investigations are underway to determine cause’

In December last year, blades from a 34-metre wind turbine operated by Surrey firm Constantine Wind Energy were torn off and sent hurtling through the air during Storm Gerrit in Galston, East Ayrshire. Parts of the fibreglass structures were left embedded in the ground due to the force of the winds.

A spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council said: “The Council has no operational responsibility or control of the wind farm [Sneddon Law] and therefore has no remit in this matter and, as such, is not taking any specific action. However, the operator whose responsibility it is to operate their development in an appropriate manner has advised the council of this incident for our awareness.

“They noted that the turbine manufacturer had already visited the site and the operator is awaiting a full report on the matter this week and will take whatever action is required following that report.”

A spokesperson for CWP Energy: “Investigations are underway to determine cause but it is being treated as an isolated incident. The affected turbine is disabled and Vestas are dealing with the incident. Vestas have conducted drone inspections of other turbines at the site.”