Maintenance on the cheap. Poorly maintained turbines in Germany posing a hazard.
German online energy news site Blackout News reports on how an old wind turbine spun completely out of control near motorway at a wind farm near Großweitzschen in Central Saxony – and couldn’t be stopped!
Image attempt by Grok AI.
“The approximately 30-year-old turbine went into an uncontrolled spin in strong winds after the braking systems failed,” reports Blackout News. “Despite several attempts, technicians were initially unable to stop the rotor blades spinning unchecked. Only when the wind died down did the turbine gradually come to a standstill.”
The incident worries the wind industry as the runaway wind turbine could not be stopped due to an emergency brake failure and thus “posed a serious safety risk.”
“Experts attribute the failure to a combination of factors, including material fatigue after decades of operation, inadequate maintenance of the braking systems and extreme gusts of wind at the time of the incident,” writes Blackout News.
As older turbines age, they become uneconomical to operate. Operators tend to cut corners when it comes to maintenance and repairs, which can be extensive for the older ones.
Local mayor Jörg Burkert called for immediate action, and authorities are now pushing for an immediate plant shutdown and dismantling of the rogue turbine – also an expensive step.
Early stage investigations point to an emergency brake fault and that a “complete failure of the system” could have occurred. Experts are calling for consequences.
“Energy experts are now calling for stricter maintenance regulations for older turbines and regular load tests of the braking systems. Clear decommissioning criteria in the event of technical defects should prevent similar incidents in future,” adds Blackout News.
That the authorities are worried is completely reasonable as turbines cannot be left to spin out of control and collapse catastrophically near people and infrastructure because no one is adequately maintaining them.
Meaningless AI image again.
Why didn’t they use the generator to stop the turbine? Also, do wind turbines really last 30 years?
Like most machines, some do, a lot don’t..
I wonder how far a dislodged blade could fly in those out of control situations ?
Old turbines will be kept as is, because both maintenace and deconstruction are expensive (in France 500 000 – 650 000 euros per unit) AND they may serve as carbon credit source although standing still. It is suspected that the carbon credit amount is based on the nameplate power figure, not to the real yearly production of electricity. Who knows more?
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Don’t give up your day job Grok…
How many other wind turbines of the same age and manufacturer are subject to a common failure? Are they being shutdown “in an abundance of caution?”
Very good blog post. I definitely love this website. Thanks!
https://media.gettr.com/group7/getter/2025/03/29/14/61bbaa3a-f3bc-325a-ebfe-a68c1e0e5c85/out.mp4