SITE LINKS
BLADE SHEARS OFF TURBINE
AT WINDFARM IN CORNWALL
BIG CHUNK OF TURBINE BLADE SHEARS OFF
Source: Western Morning News
Publication date : 14.01.06
Part of a wind turbine blade weighing more than half a ton snapped off and
crashed into a field during high winds. A chunk of the 18 metre (59 feet) long
blade sheared off at the Cold Northcott windfarm on Bodmin Moor at about 9am
yesterday.
Peter Townsend, from the nearby village of St Clether, spotted the damaged blade
on the 36 metre (118 feet) high turbine as he was driving past.
He said: "I couldn't help but notice it as I was passing, because a big bit of
the blade was missing. It was lying a fair way from the turbine in a field, so
it must have flown quite a way after it snapped off.
"Some of these turbines are very close to the road and footpaths, and my house
isn't far away.
"I don't like the fact that this can happen, because it's very dangerous."
The Cold Northcott site has 21 turbines which straddle the A395 Launceston to
Hallworthy road, just past the village of Piper's Pool.
Operators Cumbria Windfarms said the site has been running since April 1993 and
nothing like this had happened there before.
Trevor Gait, the firm's general manager, said: "At the moment we do not know how
this has happened, but we will be conducting a full investigation.
"Safety is a top priority for us, and we do everything we can to minimise the
risks involved in wind turbines, which are very, very minimal. This is a very
rare occurrence."
There are seven operational wind farms in Cornwall and one in Devon, but more
are planned for the South West.
Tony Wood, a member of the Den Brook Valley Action Group, which is protesting
against a proposed wind farm in Devon, near Okehampton, said the accident was
proof of the danger of wind turbines.
He said: "The wind turbines they want to build here will be about 120 metres
high, and the tip of their blades will be moving at 150mph at full speed.
"If something that big and that high comes off at high speed it could travel a
very long way.
"Most wind farms are near roads, railways, or walking paths, and the dangers are
obvious."
"Operators Cumbria Windfarms said the site has been running since April 1993 and
nothing like this had happened there before."