A 70-metre-long rotor blade of a V150 wind turbine fell from a height of 123 meters at the Lübbenow wind farm in Germany, heightening concerns about the safety of wind turbines.
AI generated symbol image. Hat-tip: Blackout News.
The affected turbine had been put into operation only 6 years ago, in 2019.
The incident raises questions about just how safe wind turbines really are. The incident is one in a series of technical defects. In January 2017, a rotor blade broke near Zichow (presumably due to a pitch control failure). In 2016: An entire wind turbine tower collapsed in Grimmen. A short time later, a Nordex 149 tower in Güstow had to be taken down for safety reasons. This affected a total of 18 identical turbines in Germany following a collapse in the Ruhr area in 2021 due to a design fault.
The Brandenburg Ministry of the Environment counted five accidents within two and a half years (as of August 2023), but no complete overview exists, as there is no central data collection for the dismantling of turbines and it is unclear who is responsible for the recycling and disposal of old turbine parts.
Not only are wind turbines prone to catastrophic failures, but they severely impact the quality of life of local residents due to the noise pollution they cause, especially in north-westerly winds. The rattling and clattering affect residents, restaurants and tourism. The rapid expansion of wind turbines has been accompanied by inadequate control systems and a lack of consideration for local residents.
More importantly how far did it fly
I wonder who takes the financial hit for these events.