From the ABC Australia, video follows. Proof of something we’ve always said: You need a fossil fueled backup generator for any “green”wind/solar power project.
Mawson Antarctic research station relying solely on diesel after wind turbine crashes to ground
An Australian Antarctic research station is now relying solely on diesel power generation after a wind turbine collapsed overnight.
Expeditioners at Mawson station discovered the head of the 30-metre Enercon E30 turbine had fallen to the ground about 9:00pm on Tuesday.
The Australian Antarctic Division’s general manager of support and operations, Dr Rob Wooding, said he was thankful no-one was injured in the incident.
…
Dr Wooding said the cause of the collapse was unclear, as weather conditions had been moderate over the last few days.
“We have no idea what the cause of it is yet,” he said.
“The winds at Mawson are always quite strong at night, so they were up to about 40 knots, but that’s not, by Mawson standards, especially strong.”
Dr Wooding said the turbine was one of two on the station, but both had been deactivated as a precaution while investigations continued.
Full story here
Video:
Lubrication is a problem at very low temperatures.
If it was calm and very cold for a period, and then very windy, in a place like Antarctica, I believe any lubrication system could be compromised.
If this was the case, the turbine could be suddenly activated effectively with no lubrication and all the bearings would overheat and then in a short time seize. The resulting de-acceleration of the blades and turbine could simply rip everything from its bearers.
Yup I have a little experience as a mechanic in Canadian winters.
Cheers
Roger
http://www.thedemiseofchristchurch.com
Thank goodness they didn’t blow up the generator room after they went green and installed the turbines, the staff might have been preserved frozen until next year! Unlike South Australia , which blew up its coal fired power station and then had the mother of all outages after a storm that blew down the power lines.
It’s a shame, the turbine might have made sense in that environment, if they hadn’t bought some cheapo fan from som corp milking the subsidies while there still hot. Speaking of hot, someone get those guys a small reactor to power their needs without polluting the area with spilled diesel, fumes, and rotor scraps.