Cowley Ridge wind farm shut down - Cowley, AB
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 49° 33.830 W 114° 04.205
11U E 711857 N 5494262
Canada's first wind farm, begun in 1993, ran into a tiny bit of trouble in March of 2012 when one of the original towers tipped over.
Waymark Code: WMM2C6
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 07/07/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member silverquill
Views: 1

Actually, it broke in half as the result of losing a blade and vibrating considerably, causing Transalta Utilities, the owner, to shut the whole section of towers down for inspection. Fort MacLeod's MacLeod Gazette published a story on the incident on March 06 2012. Some excerpts are below.
DAVID THOMAS, GAZETTE CONTRIBUTOR

Canada’s original wind farm along Cowley Ridge remains shut down for intensive structural inspection following the spontaneous self-destruction late Friday of one of its 18-year-old turbines.

System operators at TransAlta Corporation’s Calgary control centre were alerted by remote fault sensors that one of the Cowley Ridge turbines was vibrating unusually.

They immediately shut down the entire fleet of 57 turbines mounted atop 80-foot steel lattice towers — a design since replaced by the more familiar welded tubular towers.

Technicians dispatched to the scene from TransAlta’s Pincher Creek maintenance depot discovered that one of the three black fiberglass blades had broken off while the turbine was generating power.

When they returned the following morning they discovered that the bolted steel tower itself had buckled overnight, apparently after being weakened by the impact of the errant blade. From the MacLeod Gazette
Photo Courtesy of the MacLeod Gazette
Type of publication: Newspaper

When was the article reported?: 03/06/2012

Publication: MacLeod Gazette

Article Url: [Web Link]

Is Registration Required?: no

How widespread was the article reported?: regional

News Category: Editorial

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