-by John Gillis
The collapse of a wind turbine tower in the Point Tupper wind farm on August 17th has lead to an investigation by Enercon, the company that manufactured the tower and the Nova Scotia Department of Labour, which launched its own inspection of the tower shortly after the incident.
The collapse of the tower is said to be the first incident of its type in Canada although collapses have occasionally occurred in other countries in the past.
Enercon, in a statement released August 19th, called the event an “isolated” incident and said it would be launching an investigation into its cause.
“During a scheduled component exchange, an incident triggered the Enercon evacuation protocol. The technician on site diligently followed such protocol, and safely evacuated the turbine and the surroundings in time to avoid any injuries prior to the turbine's collapse. Only property damage has been reported,” the company stated.
Enercon claims it has installed close to 1,000 wind turbines in Canada alone.
“The affected turbine is currently being disconnected from the grid and the rest of the wind farm continues to safely operate,” Enercon added.
The Nova Scotia Department of Labour is also taking a look at the event.
Scott Nauss is senior director of inspection and compliance and he told The Oran on Monday that the department has a team conducting an inspection of the tower.
“We don’t know yet what caused the failure and we’re trying to figure out if any violations occurred,” said Nauss.
“We’re still gathering facts and getting some documentation from the company and our investigator will be taking statements,” Nauss stated after being asked about eye witness reports stating the turbine was seen spinning out of control just prior to the collapse.
The 10 other E-82 turbines at the Point Tupper site, built in 2010, were not affected by the collapse officials say.
Renewable Energy Services holds a majority stake in the Point Tupper project, co-owned by Nova Scotia Power Inc., Nova Scotia’s privately-owned electric utility.
Sandra Buker of Creignish, Inverness County, wrote to The Oran last week that we were fortunate that there were no injuries in that “catastrophe” at Point Tupper. Buker says she is not opposed to wind energy but feels the Municipality of Inverness County can do a better job in determining where wind towers can be more appropriately located.
Carole Morris of Colindale says she has concerns over the collapse and says it demonstrates why Colindale would not be an appropriate location for two proposed wind towers.
“Emergency response may not be the same as Port Hawkesbury and although it may be an isolated incident it is still an incident,” said Morris.
According to Canadian Press, on February 25th, no one was injured when a 120-metre Vestas turbine fell in a field in Elkton, Michigan during a winter storm, reported the Detroit Free Press. That turbine was part of the Harvest I wind project built by U.S-based Exelon Corp.
Canadian Press also reported that in January 2015, “a 100-metre turbine fell over on a mountainside in Northern Ireland. The Daily Telegraph reports, “No one was injured at the Screggagh wind farm near in County Tyrone, but debris was scattered across the site.”
Enercon Canada is a subsidiary of Enercon GmbH in Germany.
About Enercon: Established in Germany over 30 years ago, Enercon is an international leader in wind turbine design and sales. Known worldwide for its gearless generator technologies, high manufacturing standards, and comprehensive long-term service agreements, the company claims it “has become synonymous with reliability and performance.”
To date, Enercon has installed more than 25,600 turbines worldwide, ranging from 500 KW to 7.5 MW, representing more than 41.2 GW of installed capacity.
A major player in the Canadian market since its entry in 2001, Enercon Canada Inc. has over 450 employees with offices located in Montreal, Toronto, and Dartmouth, service stations coast-to-coast, a manufacturing site in Matane (QC), and a dedicated training and warehouse facility in Boucherville (QC). Enercon Canada Inc. currently has over 2,000 MW installed throughout seven Canadian provinces and territories.
