So much for Endurance…
From Louise Gray at The Telegraph:
Wind turbine collapses in high wind
A controversial 115ft wind turbine has collapsed after being hit by heavy winds.
The £250,000 tower, which stood as tall as a ten storey building, was hit by gale force gusts of 50mph.
The structure then collapsed at a farm in Bradworth, Devon, leaving a “mangled wreck”.
Margaret Coles, Chairwoman of Bradworthy District Council, said hail storms and strong winds have hit the area and the turbine, installed just three years ago, simply could not withstand the wind.
“The bolts on the base could not withstand the wind and as we are a very windy part of the country they [the energy company] have egg on their face,” she said. “There are concerns about safety.”
The Bradworthy Parish Council, who opposed the turbine, expressed concern that there was “nothing exceptional” in the speed of the winds.
Installed by renewable energy company Dulas it was supposed to have a life expectancy of 25 years.
Full story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/9837026/Wind-turbine-collapses-in-high-wind.html
==============================================================
Of course, Ms. Gray calls a 50 mph wind a “high wind”, but that sort of wind isn’t an unusual event for the area. Besides, the specs for the Endurance E-3120 wind turbine say:
Given its, ahem, endurance, one wonders if the council will allow it to be reconstructed. I’m thinking no.
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Sabotage suspected at toppled wind turbine as second is brought down
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9841848/Sabotage-suspected-at-toppled-wind-turbine-as-second-is-brought-down.html
Looking carefully at the pictures, it looks like the bolt holes are intact and not deformed around the base of the down tower. Sure looking like some kind of nut / bolt failure to me. Would be nice to have a picture of the pad / bolt ends…
Björn and Dennis Ray Wingo:
You attempt to assess CO2 mitigation from windturbines by calculating CO2 emission resulting from their construction. And you assume 0.909 kg/Kwh Co2 savings from use of windpower because windturbines do not emit CO2.
With respect, your assumption is untrue.
As I explained to Chris4692 in my post at January 31, 2013 at 1:57 am
And as I said to him in my post at January 31, 2013 at 9:43 am
Those increased CO2 emissions from conventional plant are caused by the conventional plant needing to be throttled back to make space on the grid for the intermittent electricity from windfarms. In other words,
those increased emissions of CO2 are caused by use of the windfarms.
The first public statement admitting this from the power industry was provided by David Tolley (Head of Networks and Ancillary Services, Innogy (a subsidiary of the German energy consortium RWE). In a keynote address the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. in 2003 he said of windfarms in the UK,
NETA is the New Electricity Trading Arrangements, the UK’s deregulated power market.
( ref. Tolley D, ‘NETA — The Consequence,’ keynote address, to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, January 15, 2003 )
The use of windpower INCREASES CO2 emissions from power generation.
Richard
@Abiogenisis:
Well that would sure explain the ‘pristine’ look to the base holes… (Assuming they really meant that the ‘nuts’ were missing as the ‘bolts’ are likely embedded in the pad..)
If all it takes is one guy with a wrench to take one of these down “that’s gonna be a problem”.
I think they need to start ‘weld / staking’ the nuts… then again, a bag of thermite is pretty easy to use too. I wonder if they gave any thought at all to how hard it would be to prevent sabotage on a widely distributed load of these things?
Abiogenesis:
Your post at February 1, 2013 at 4:37 am says
Hmmmm.
The newspaper report of your link says
and
There is no mention of any report to the police.
Clearly, the newspaper report has attributed a meaning to the word “gone” which may or may not be correct.
I think we need to await more information before jumping to any conclusions.
Richard
“I think they need to start ‘weld / staking’ the nuts… then again, a bag of thermite is pretty easy to use too. I wonder if they gave any thought at all to how hard it would be to prevent sabotage on a widely distributed load of these things?”
Indeed! I am wondering how long before Al Q’aieda figure out that this could be an easy route to causing infrastructure damage. But then, I suppose, if nobody dies, they wouldn’t call it terrorism.
Vince–I have wondered about sabotage since these things started going in. From a practical point of view, they make a big target. However, since in reality knocking out an entire wind facility would have NO effect on power (remember, turbines all have backup power in the form of a fossil fuel plant for days with zero wind), I would expect most sabotage to be from persons who oppose the waste and environmental damage the turbines do. Al Q’aieda would have nothing to gain.
[i]Of course, Ms. Gray calls a 50 mph wind a “high wind”[/i]
Here, in Las Cruces, NM, we call that March.
A nice day in March, at that.
“Sabotage suspected at toppled wind turbine as second is brought down”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9841848/Sabotage-suspected-at-toppled-wind-turbine-as-second-is-brought-down.html
“An investigation into the collapse of the first turbine in Bradworthy, Devon, during a 50mph gale last weekend has revealed that bolts are missing from its base”
Well I’m one of those who don’t think much of wind tubines, except for a few niche situations.
And I agree with those “environmentalists” who think they are an ugly eyesore; well any structure out in a wilderness area is an ugly eyesore, and that is about the limit of my agreement with “earth firsters”.
But the thought that anyone would sabotage one of these wind turbines, for some end or other, is about on a par with those who break into research labs, and turn loose lab animals, without any idea of what havoc they may be wreaking. NO ! I don’t condone any mistreatment of animals.
So these tower collapses in Britain seem to be more political collapses, than technological.
Hopefully, most of us are more adult than that.
But I have to say that #0.25M or it’s $ equivalent seems like a big waste of money. My small fuel efficient liquid rock burning automobile churns out more than double the KW output of that recent downed turbine tower. And I could buy myself a whole fleet of 20 or more of these autos, for what was spent on that turbine.
“Wind Farms Could Become ‘Monuments Of A Failed Civilisation’, Top Environmentalist Claims”
http://www.thegwpf.org/wind-farms-monuments-failed-civilisation-top-environmentalist-claims/
“Prof Lovelock is protesting against a single turbine at Witherdon Wood, Broadwoodwidger. It is believed he lives or has a property 43 miles away near Barnstaple.”
The veteran environmentalist added: “We need to take care that the spinning windmills do not become like the statues on Easter Island – monuments of a failed civilisation.”