Europe's Largest Wind Farm Shuts Down After 150 ft Blade Falls Off.

[NNadir]

EUROPE'S largest wind farm ground to a halt after a 150ft blade snapped off one of the turbines.

All 140 of the giant machines were immediately shut down at the £300million development near Glasgow until they could be inspected.

Engineers at Whitelee wind farm, which is run by ScottishPower Renewables, were trying to work out why the blade came crashing down.

They are looking into whether lightning could have struck the turbine or if it was caused by a mechanical problem.

It sheared off and hit the ground in the early hours of Friday morning in blustery conditions.

Automatic systems alerted operators in the control room to the damage and they immediately closed down the unit.

All 420 blades in the wind farm were being examined following the accident.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/03/23/scots-wind-farm-shut-after-150ft-turbine-blade-falls-off-86908-22132234/">Wind farm shut over safety fears after 150ft turbine blade falls off

The turbine lasted one year before falling apart.

Whitelee was officially switched on in May 2009 by First Minister Alex Salmond.

Each turbine at Whitelee, which started producing electricity in January 2008, stands 360ft high.

The wind farm has 140 turbines that can generate 322 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 180,000 homes.

One of course, can't discuss wind farms - or other forms of so called "renewable energy" - without the conditional "can" and the ersatz energy unit so favored by renewable energy claimants "the home." Actually "the home" is not a unit of energy. Energy is measured in units called "joules" or derived units like kwh. But why be technical? Technical stuff doesn't matter, does it?

Of course, it is also true that the wind farm cannot produce anything for any home when turbine blades are flying around and the entire plant needs to be shut for safety fears. During such periods, undoubtedly they burn dangerous natural gas and dump the dangerous natural gas waste in the favorite waste dump of the gas industry, earth's atmosphere.

But like I say, why get technical?



Here's a picture of the whole huge mass of metal not doing a damn thing:



It will probably take just 15 to 20 years before that whole field is transformed into a giant landfill full of broken and forgotten metal.

[Berry Cool]

1. Ah, here we go again, you on another anti-wind power rant.

Is that your entire life's purpose? To terrify people about wind power? Because I think it's plain ridiculous. Especially to anyone who's ever actually seen a real live wind farm or turbine and knows they're not big scary things that are falling apart and decapitating people and animals right and left. Sheesh.

[tabasco]

3. The OP doesn't seem like a rant to me.

But your reply does.

[Berry Cool]

You must not have read as many of the OP's posts as I have.

Let's just put it that way.

[SPedigrees]

7. This sounds like a rant to me:

It will probably take just 15 to 20 years before that whole field is transformed into a giant landfill full of broken and forgotten metal.

[NNadir]

14. The point, in case you missed it, concerns future generations and our limited resources.

The things are junk, even if they don't decapitate people, but, given that the wind industry doesn't produce significant energy, and our air head consumer denialist types are trying to make that square peg fit in a round hole, it may start killing people should it get to five exajoules out of the 500 humanity now produces.

The wind industry and the solar industry have been able to hide their external costs behind the fact that they are failures.

Personally, my opinion of the wind hand wavers is that they don't think very deeply, are not analytical, and are pretty lazy and glib.

Reliability matters, particularly in a time when there is this so much debt, some of which is looking like an increasingly fragile house of cards.

If you spend 10 billion dollars on something that lasts 10 years, when you might have spent it on something that lasts 60 or longer, you are fucking people in future generations, first by giving them no inheritance, and secondly, by viciously demanding they clean up the waste of your useless life.

I do think about future generations, and I couldn't fucking care less if you like it or not.

[suston96]

2. I prefer solar.......

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100403/NEWS/4030328/-1/news

[kestrel91316]

6. Wait 'til you hear the OP rant about solar, lol. He thinks we will forget

his years of cheerleading for nuclear if he distracts us. He hates EVERYTHING but nuclear.

[suston96]

8. I was a computer tech in my other life.....

...but I prefer equipment with fewer moving parts which means less maintenance.

I was also a Cape Codder for 45 years and I don't want those stinking wind blades in my beautiful Nantucket Sound or there around.

[kristopher]

9. Well aren't you the selfish one?

There is nothing pristine or unique about Nantucket and the wind turbines are not going to harm the environment there even 1/1000th what the fishing fleet routinely does.

On the other hand, the area is one of the best wind resources in the United States, so it seems reasonable to tap into that resource.

[suston96]

11. Selfish? I don't even live there anymore...........

After the wind turbines come the oil platforms and after the oil platforms........

....comes 2012 and the end of days.......

[kristopher]

12. No other word applies as well as selfish

You wrote, "I was also a Cape Codder for 45 years and I don't want those stinking wind blades in my beautiful Nantucket Sound or there around."

It makes no difference that what your irrationality hopes to protect is nothing more than an idealized cherished memory, your values are clearly Selfish.

[sandnsea]

4. Hmmm, a snapped blade vs radioactive waste

Difficult choice.

:sarcasm:

And what happens when there's a nuclear accident? The plant shuts down, right?

[louis-t]

10. Snapped blade vs. oil spill?

[SPedigrees]

5. This is old news.

Do you think that a single broken blade is more of an environmental hazard than lopped off mountaintops, oil spills or spent fuel rods?

Maybe you should post these views on some anti-environmental forum where they'd be more warmly received..

[joshcryer]

13. I don't see anything on Google News about this particular wind farm resuming operation.

So while it is an old posting, I do wonder how long it will be down. Inspecting 140 wind turbines may take some time, and if there is a defect in the turbine design, then the whole wind farm may need to be rebuilt.

[kristopher]

15. That's because the Nuclear Energy Institute only promotes negative info on renewables...

If you bothered to look outside of your office approved reading list, you'd have found this:
http://newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=3753§ion=Wind

Whitelee returning to operation after 46m blade snaps

Thursday 25 March 2010

ScottishPower said the investigation into the cause of the break would conclude on Friday March 26

Europe's largest onshore wind farm, in Scotland, has partially returned to operation after a "highly unusual" incident in which a 46 metre turbine blade snapped in the early hours of Friday (March 19) morning, forcing all 140 turbines at the site offline.

ScottishPower Renewables, which owns and operates the 322MW Whitelee wind farm in East Renfrewshire, said its engineers were investigating and were considering mechanical failure and a lightning strike. However, the company said it was still too early to pinpoint a cause.

At around 2am on Friday morning, systems on the wind turbine alerted Whitelee's 24-hour control room to the damage and operators immediately closed down the unit.

Following the incident all the wind turbines at the site were taken offline and engineers began an extensive inspection of all units.

By yesterday (March 24) morning, 84 turbines had been inspected and safely returned to operation with engineering teams externally and internally examining all blades on the wind farm's units. ScottishPower Renewables said this "detailed process" was expected to be completed by Friday (March 26)....





So the farm was back online more than a week before the OP and more than 2 weeks before you claim "I don't see anything on Google News about this particular wind farm resuming operation."


Now wipe the drool off your chin and see if your mommy won't let you go out and play...

[joshcryer]

16. I didn't see it on google news.

Thanks for the info.

[kristopher]

17. You obviously didn't look.

Your chin still needs wiping...

[joshcryer]

18. I did look. Your belittlement gets you no where.

[muriel_volestrangler]

20. I can see it there

[joshcryer]

21. It wasn't there when I looked at least not on the first page.

[wtmusic]

19. Be fair - they aren't designed to work in blustery conditions

:silly: