PSC
Probes Wind Tower Collapse, Fire
Mar
12 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Brian Nearing Albany
Times Union, N.Y.
State
investigators from the Public Service Commission are
looking into the fiery collapse of a wind power turbine at
a turbine farm in Clinton County.
A preliminary examination by Nobel Environmental Power,
owner of the $200 million, 65-turbine Altona Wind Park, and
General Electric Co., manufacturer of the 1.5-megawatt
turbines, found "wiring anomalies" prevented two turbines
from shutting down as designed during a power outage.
On Friday morning, one tower collapsed and started a small
fire in snow-covered woods, while the other faulty tower
was damaged but remained standing, according to a statement
from Noble. Debris from the collapsed tower was flung up to
a quarter-mile away, according to published reports. No one
was hurt.
PSC officials want Noble and General Electric to share the
investigations into the towers, blades and generators, as
well as any analysis of how far the debris traveled,
commission spokesman James Denn said Wednesday. The state
also wants to know how many turbines have been restarted
since the incident, and information on wind and other
weather around the turbines leading up to the collapse.
It was the first collapse of a wind turbine in New York
state. The three-bladed General Electrical 1.5 SLE megawatt
turbines are between 200 and 280 feet high at the hub where
the rotor blades connect, and have a rotor diameter of 250
feet, according to specifications on General Electric's Web
site.
Each turbine has a braking system to bring the blades to a
halt, including an electromechanical pitch control for each
blade, as well as an hydraulic parking brake, according to
GE.
Noble spokeswoman Maggy Wisniewski declined comment when
asked to describe how the braking systems are meant to
function, or what happened to cause a power outage at the
wind farm.
According to the National Weather Service in Burlington,
Vt., there was no high-wind advisory warning in place for
Clinton County on Friday.
The remaining 63 turbines at Altona shut down as designed
Friday, and are being restarted once GE finishes tests to
ensure the same wiring problems are not present, according
to Noble's news release.
The park produces electricity to serve about 32,500 homes.
Noble, which is privately owned and based in Essex, Conn.,
also operates wind parks in Bellmont, Franklin County;
Chateaugay, Franklin County; and Clinton and Ellenburg,
Clinton County. It also operated in seven other states.
Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by email at
bnearing@timesunion.com.
Copyright © 1996-2009 by CyberTech, Inc.