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Author Topic: Wind Turbine failure in Woodward, Oklahoma  (Read 759 times)
wiredwrong

Posts: 101


« on: May 12, 2005, 11:28:19 PM »

 

Cut and paste from the local news website here.....


Wind turbine falls near Weatherford


By Carrie Coppernoll

The Oklahoman


WEATHERFORD -- A week after it began producing energy, a 260-foot tall wind turbine near Weatherford collapsed early Friday.

NEWS 9 report


Witnesses reported an electrical explosion, but emergency workers found no fire at the FPL Energy wind farm, Weatherford Fire Chief Robert Anders said.


No injuries were reported.


As of Friday, officials don't know what caused the top two-thirds of the tower to crash, said Steve Stengel, spokesman for FPL Energy, the Florida company that owns the turbines.


"We've never had something like this happen before," Stengel said. "We really don't understand at this point why it happened."


The collapse was probably an accident, said Randy Cox, a Custer County Sheriff's investigator.


The wind was blowing about 12 mph, he said.


The nearest home is about a half-mile away, and the windmills aren't in a location to be dangerous to drivers, Cox said.


"It's not like any of them are so close to the road that they're going to fall into the roadway or anything like that," he said.


The Weatherford windmills began working April 30, Stengel said.


The windmill was one of 71 on the farm, Stengel said. About 30 turbines are scheduled to be added to the Weatherford project this summer, Stengel said.


The power generated at the Weatherford farm is sold to Public Service Company of Oklahoma, which sells the power to residential customers. Service was not interrupted, Stengel said.


FPL Energy also owns 68 windmills on a farm near Woodward and about 6,500 nationwide.


The company is the largest owner and operator of wind turbines in the world, Stengel said.


General Electric makes the company's windmill parts, and Wind Energy Constructors of California assembles them, Stengel said.



« Last Edit: May 12, 2005, 11:28:19 PM by (unknown) » Logged
srnoth

Posts: 60


« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2005, 07:20:36 PM »

Ouch!! Sabotage?
« Last Edit: May 12, 2005, 07:20:36 PM by srnoth » Logged
pyrocasto
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 586


« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2005, 08:07:10 PM »

That thought went through my head too. I just dont know how an electrical explosion could sever the tower where it did.


Maybe it was the so called, "witnesses"?

or maybe it was just a malfuntion since they do happen...

« Last Edit: May 12, 2005, 08:07:10 PM by pyrocasto » Logged
Trivo

Posts: 66


« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2005, 09:05:43 PM »

Do you think they forgot the Loctite?
« Last Edit: May 12, 2005, 09:05:43 PM by Trivo » Logged
nothing to lose
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Posts: 1534


« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2005, 08:44:54 AM »

Hard for me to see that break area clear enough, kinda grainy photo displaying, but it looks like a fairly nice neat cut line from here. Not all bent up and out of shape like you would think if it had bent and fell over. My view of that photo looks like a nice straight 2 section tower,


Oh OH, paranoha setting in,

I think this a plot of corporate corruption in progress, they see what we can do for ourselfs, so they sabatoge a few of there own, then they can claim how unsafe it is to have them near homes to ban us from building our own, but because they build in remote rural type areas they can be aloughed to be a monopoly becuase theirs falling down are safe.


Well I don't really think that of course, but I would not put it past some companies to try such tacticks.

« Last Edit: May 13, 2005, 08:44:54 AM by nothing to lose » Logged
windyknight

Posts: 49


« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2005, 11:19:52 AM »

They would be shooting themselves in the foot if they did! I know from experience 'jo public' always concerned about safety so most big companies stressing very good safety record. More likely guys who put bolts in got sidetracked and forgot most of them!
« Last Edit: May 13, 2005, 11:19:52 AM by windyknight » Logged
Peppyy

Posts: 175


« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2005, 05:10:28 PM »

From what I see this timing is coincidental too. I came upon this while trying to find a better photo.

        May 03, 2005 09:02 AM US Eastern Timezone


FPL Energy Begins Commercial Operation of Weatherford Wind Energy Center; Announces Plans to Expand Project by 40.5 MW


http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050503005
619&newsLang=en


cowinkydink?

« Last Edit: May 13, 2005, 05:10:28 PM by Peppyy » Logged
richhagen
Hero Member
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Posts: 1308


« Reply #7 on: May 14, 2005, 01:46:57 PM »

Hmm, improper assembly, material flaw, and design flaw, come to the top of my list in looking at this.  It wasn't overly windy, and the machine hadn't been installed for very long.  It looks to me like another good reason not to mount a heavy turbine on a tower near a house, or anything else of high value.  All machines will eventually fail.  Farmland seems like an excellent place to put these machines as the rest of the field would still be productive farmland with only a small percentage used for the turbines.  The land around the turbine would be almost always devoid of people and high value items.  If they fell, the only thing damaged would be some crops, and I have only heard of collapses like this rarely happening.  Rich
« Last Edit: May 14, 2005, 01:46:57 PM by richhagen » Logged

A Joule saved is a Joule made!
a15

Posts: 1


« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2005, 05:22:59 PM »

The collapse was not due to sabotage, mechanical failure, or constuction flaws. It collapsed becuase the turbine was brought to a full stop while in operation.


Inertia is a SOB.

« Last Edit: July 16, 2005, 05:22:59 PM by a15 » Logged
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