In terms of safety, how close should an industrial scale wind turbine be to a home?

Is it OK to waive the safety setback--- also known as the collapse zone-- in order to help a wind developer get his project up and running?

Watch as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's Wind Siting Council discuss not just waiving the safety setback but also changing the term to "courtesy setback".

According to some council members, when it comes to wind turbines, 'safety' is a relative term. Several council members make it clear they don't believe there are safety issues.

The majority of the members of the Wind Siting Council had direct or indirect financial interest in creating rules that allow turbines to be sited as close as possible to Wisconsin homes. The rules they created are set to go into effect in March of 2012 unless legislators step in.

From the UK

WIND TURBINES RIPPED APART BY GALE FORCE WINDS IN HUDDERSFIELD

Via Huddersfield Daily Examiner, www.examiner.co.uk

January 6, 2012 

Huge turbine blades flew off three windmills as high winds lashed Huddersfield.

There were problems at Hepworth and at two farms in Upper Cumberworth.

But the Brighouse firm who made the damaged turbines has promised a full investigation.

A fourth windmill, in Holmfirth, has also been damaged in the gales of the past few days.

Concerned villagers in Hepworth warned: “Someone could have been killed,” after one of the blades was flung across a road.

Ryan Gill, of Brighouse-based manufacturers Evoco, told the Examiner it is not yet clear why the turbine malfunctioned and investigations are under way.

He blamed the exceptionally strong winds for the damage, adding that the wind turbines are certified under the industry Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

The Evoco website claims the 10kw turbine has been “specifically designed to reliably deliver high generation performance in harsh wind conditions”.

The windmill in Hepworth was ripped apart in the gale force winds on Wednesday night.

But villagers say the 15m high wind turbine at Upper Woodroyd Barn, off Hog Close Lane in Victoria, is particularly dangerous because it’s close to the road and a danger to the public.

The blades on the 12 metre mast are over two metres long and one flew across a road.

There were also problems with an identical turbine at Far Mount Farm, Intake Lane, Cumberworth.

And a turbine was also damaged at Drake Hill Farm in Cumberworth.

Frances Barnes, who has 10 acres of grazing land for horses close to the Hepworth turbine, said: “It is worrying.

“People objected to the plans when they first went in – not because it is a windmill but because it is so close to a busy road.

“It is frightening to think what may have happened had one of the blades flown into the road and hit a car, or indeed if the wind turbine had come down.”

Another local, who did not want to be named, said one of the turbine blades had ended up in a field at the other side of the road.

He said: “It’s very, very dangerous. There could have been a pedestrian or a car on the road and someone could have been killed.”

Another anonymous villager said: “A lot of complaints went in about that turbine when it was first planned.

“One of the main factors was that the blades of the turbine were horizontal to the road.

“It’s a terrible place to put one because it’s so near to the road.”

But farmer Peter Mitchell – who owns the turbine – told the Examiner he is confident engineers from suppliers Evoco will fix the problem.

He said: “I’m happy with how they’ve said they are going to rectify the problem and they are not going to pull out of any responsibility on this.

“They have always been very helpful and they are trying to sort it out.

“Obviously it’s not the ideal scenario but there was a fault with it.

“We’ve lived up here six years and this is the worst weather we’ve had. We’ve had slates blown off the roof.

“I’m obviously concerned but I’m confident the problem will be rectified.”

l London Fire Brigade attended a string of wind-related incidents across the capital, when gusts blew a wind turbine in Barking and scaffolding in Tavistock Square into “precarious positions”.

FIERCE gales peaked at 71.6mph in Huddersfield with the strongest gusts on record for 11 years.

And Examiner weatherman Paul Stevens said Wednesday was the wettest day the town has seen for the last 12 months, with 51mm of rainfall in just one day.

And he warned that the area will see more of the same storms over the next week.

Chaos was caused in the town, with trees crashing on top of caravans in Upper Cumberworth and sports pitches flooded.

Paul said: “The weather remains changeable and often unsettled for the next seven days – at least with something a little more settled for a time on Sunday before more rain comes in from the west.

“But at least there’s no indications of anything too cold or prolonged, except the odd hail and wintry shower mostly on the hills.”

Nationally, in Hertfordshire a woman and a 10-year-old boy were taken to hospital after a tree crashed on to their car as strong winds returned to sweep the country.

Gusts reaching highs of 87mph were recorded at Capel Curig in Wales at 2am.

In Huddersfield the gale force wind brought trees crashing down – one on top of a caravan at the junction of Dearne Dike Lane and Haddingley Lane, Upper Cumberworth. In Newsome, a tree smashed through a garden wall near the junction of Newsome Road and Dawson Road, while a large branch obstructed the pavement on Birkby Hall Road.

Birchencliffe Petrol Station on Halifax Road had to be cordoned off because of fears the storm-damaged canopy would cave in.

Meanwhile, football and rugby matches on council-managed pitches in Kirklees this weekend have been postponed after consultation with local leagues.

The pitches are saturated following heavy rain over the last few days and the pitches are in an unplayable condition and the decision has been taken to call off all matches.

Safety inspections will be made of the ground conditions by grounds maintenance staff and there will be an extra effort to prepare the pitches for future fixtures.

Next Feature

From Scotland

CONTROVERSIAL WIND TURBINE'S BLADE CRASHES TO GROUND

The Northern Times,  via www.northern-times.co.uk

January 6, 2012

Engineers have been urgently summoned to find out why a small wind turbine at a remote north-west Sutherland village hall dramatically lost one of its two blades on New Year’s Eve.

The mangled remains of the fibreglass blade were found lying some 18m from the 6kw wind turbine sited 90m to the south-east of Rhue Stoer Community Hall, Assynt.

It is thought to have flown off overnight on Hogmanay, leaving the structure in a fragile state with its hub cap hanging down and its tail fin pointing upwards.

As the Northern Times went to press yesterday (Thursday) it was reported that the remaining blade had also fallen to the ground.

The 15m high Eoltec Scirocco turbine, manufactured by French firm Eoltec SAS, was given the go-ahead by planners in November 2010 and erected amid huge controversy some six months ago.

Four members of the Rhue Stoer Community Hall Association are understood to have resigned in a row over the turbine.

And East Sutherland and Edderton ward councillor George Farlow, who supported the development, found himself reported to the Public Standards Commissioner for Scotland for allegedly contravening the Councillors’ Code of Conduct by providing planners with inaccurate information and not revealing objections to the turbine that he had received.

The commissioner, in a judgement issued in August this year, exonerated Councillor Farlow from any wrongdoing.

The turbine has since been the subject of a noise complaint which is still under investigation by Highland Council environmental health officials.

Opponents this week said that the latest incident demonstrated that their concerns about the turbine were “fully justified.”

Embarrassed hall managers have now cancelled a planned ceremony tomorrow (Saturday) to mark the erection of the turbine.

Councillor Farlow had been due to unveil a display board in the hall showing the amount of energy generated by the turbine.

But he has now been told that the ceremony will not be taking place, although the community association’s annual New Year Open Afternoon is still expected to go ahead.

Secretary of the Rhue Stoer Community Hall Association, Bob Cook, said he had no idea what had caused the turbine to shed its blade, but vandalism had not been ruled out.

“We don’t know why this blade has come off. It could be a component failure or a failure in the assembly of the turbine or vandalism,” he said.

“We are waiting for engineers to come and lower the turbine and find out exactly what happened and until we get their report, there is no point in speculating.”

However, the high winds which hit the North over the festive period are not thought to have been a factor in the turbine failure.

Mr Cook explained: “We deliberately chose this turbine for its ability to stand up to salt and high winds.

“We did have wind speeds of between 80 and 90mph, but it is built to withstand speeds of up to 140mph so we don’t believe the weather to be a factor.

“A similar turbine is situated near a lighthouse off the coast of Orkney and has been there for well over a year with no problems at all and you cannot get a much rougher location than there.”

Mr Cook said he had been very “taken aback” when he learned about the malfunction.

“It is embarrassing,” he conceded. “And the worst thing about it is that the objectors will be laughing their socks off. I am not worried. Hopefully, it will just be a case of replacing the blades and off it will go again.”

He denied that there had been any risk to passers-by from the flying blade.

“It isn’t next door to a building so the chances of the blade hitting anyone were pretty slim. Maybe if you had been a sheep standing underneath it, then you might have been bonked on the head,” he said.

He added that the turbine, for which the association received a grant aid, had been running smoothly since it was put up.

“It’s been working fantastically well and has generated 10,400 kilowatt hours in the six months that it has been up – that is many thousands of pounds worth in income,” he said.

A local resident, who objected to the turbine and did not want to be named, commented: “We expected this to happen because of the weather here. The village is surrounded by hills so you get a buffeting effect from the wind – it is not the smooth, steady blow a turbine needs to perform well.”

The resident dismissed the suggestion that the turbine could have been vandalised, but said she was not surprised that the suggestion had been made.

She said: “The turbine is the subject of a noise complaint and it has been making some very strange noises lately. The irony is that it was only taken down for servicing on October 18th so it does seems odd that it has suddenly fallen apart.”

Councillor Farlow commented: “This is just one of these things that happens and it can be put right. I have no doubt they will repair it. I also doubt very much that there was any potential for danger.”

He continued: “It was a very controversial planning application and there was a bit of a stushie about the consultation process but it has made folk interested and involved.

“In general terms, there are issues about the neighbourhood planning consultation process but I think that has been sorted out. I have been working with the community council to ensure they are kept as up-to-date as possible about planning applications.”

NEXT FEATURE

VESTAS TO REVIEW U.S. OPERATIONS IF PTC EXPIRES: CEO

by Ole Mikkelsen

Reuters, www.reuters.com

January 4, 2012

Danish wind turbine maker Vestas will review its manufacturing in the United States in the fourth quarter if the U.S. production tax credit (PTC) is not extended, the group’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

CEO Ditlev Engel also told Reuters that he did not expect to see the same development cost problems with the company’s new 7-megawatt turbine as it has had with the industrialization of its V112-3.0 MW turbine.

“If one looks at the other development in Vestas, then things have gone quite reasonably,” Engel said.

Engel’s remarks followed Vestas’ downgrade of its full-year 2011 guidance on Tuesday due to higher-than-expected costs and delayed revenue.

“In the fourth quarter, we probably must decide what we will do if the PTC is not extended,” Engel said.

A wind turbine near Dalry and Ardrossan in North Ayrshire caught fire during Scotland's extreme weather on Dec 8th 2011. Filmed by producer and cameraman James Alcock.

From another point of view

TAMING TURBINE FIRES BEFORE THEY STOP: IT'S WHEN, NOT IF

by Scott Starr

SOURCE: NORTH AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY

According to reports, the cost of a fire that damages or destroys a wind turbine can be as much as $2 million. Property damage to the turbine, and nearby areas, from fires reported in the past decade ranged between $750,000 and $6 million.

Aside from the imminent hazards of a burning turbine, there is also the risk of sparks, embers, or debris falling to the ground and setting off a wildfire due to the remote location of many wind farms. Even if a turbine is not fully burned or damaged, or a potential fire doesn’t spread to the surrounding countryside, costs can be considerable. This was shown during a recent fire at a wind farm in California, which resulted in the loss of just one converter cabinet. Cost for replacement: $243,000, including parts and downtime.

Although the financial loss and costs of a fire might be the primary concern of any wind farm operator, pressures are building up from environmental groups and the concerned public in general. Turbine fires—and, particularly those that spread—should be a significant concern, affecting the planning stages of any project. To this avail, permitting might be more drawn-out, costly, and time-consuming process. Turbine manufacturers and wind farm operators are now, more than ever, becoming acutely aware of the costs, safety, and the environmental arguments in favor of effective fire detection and suppression. But what are the fire risks associated with wind turbines?

Technical equipment and combustible material are concentrated in the nacelle and, once a fire starts in a turbine, it can be fuelled by up to 200 gallons of hydraulic fluid and lubricants. The nacelle itself is constructed from highly flammable resin and glass fiber, and internal insulation can become contaminated by oil deposits, adding to the overall fuel load.

The most common cause of a turbine fire is a lightning strike—a risk that is heightened by the installation of taller and taller wind turbines. Turbines are now being built that are up to 320 feet high. They’re frequently sited in exposed and high-altitude locations. Globally, there are around 16 million lightning storms and approximately 1.4 billion lightning flashes every year. However, only 25% of these are cloud-to-ground (the remainder are either cloud-to-cloud or intra-cloud); yet, this still equates to the US being hit by between 15 million and 20 million ground strikes a year, according to the Colorado-based National Lightning Safety Institute.

The consequences can be judged from the following example. Recently, a wind turbine caught fire as a result of a lightning strike. Burning parts of the rotor blade, which had been struck, fell and caused a secondary fire in the nacelle—all at a cost of $200,000 and 150 days lost operation.

Mechanical failure or electrical malfunction can also trigger a fire as capacitors, transformers, generators, electrical controls, transmission equipment, and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems all have the potential to catch fire. This risk is amplified when there are loose or broken electrical connections, or there is an overloading of electrical circuits. Braking systems pose a particularly high risk of fire. Overheating can cause hot fragments of the disc brake material to break off, rupturing hydraulic hoses, and resulting in the highly combustible hydraulic fluid being expelled under pressure and coming into contact with the hot disk brake fragments. Hydraulic pumps and connections can also fail, allowing the fluid to erupt into flames when it comes into contact with a hot surface.

A case in point was a fire where a slip-ring fan of a double-fed induction generator broke. Sparks were generated by the rotating fan impeller, which set the filter cabinet’s filter pad alight. The fire then spread to the hood installation, causing $800,000 worth of damage.

With the fire risk becoming greater as more turbines come into operation, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has added wind turbine and outbuilding fire protection standards to NFPA 850 (“Recommended Practice for Fire Protection for Electric Generating Plants and High Voltage Direct Current Converter Stations;” 2010 Edition). This provides fire protection recommendations for the safety of construction and operating personnel, physical integrity of plant components, and the continuity of plant operations. The revised 2010 edition includes detailed recommendations relating to wind turbine generating facilities.

Wind farms are usually built in isolated locations with restricted access, placing them beyond the prospect of immediate attention by the fire service. Even when emergency services are able to respond quickly, few have the equipment capable of firefighting at the height of modern wind turbines. The solution is an effective fire detection and suppression system. Such a system should be intrinsically safe, not require any external power that can fail or put the system out of operation, and it needs to be able to stop a fire precisely where it breaks out before it can do irreparable damage to the turbine or spread elsewhere. It also needs to be purpose-designed to contend with the vibration, dust, debris, airflow through the nacelle, and the extreme temperature variations. An effective system also has to be capable of providing 24/7 unsupervised wind farm protection.

Wind farm fires do happen, and many in the industry suspect that they occur far more frequently than statistics suggest. This is because a significant number of turbine fires go unreported due to their remote location. Emergency services are not always involved and there are no regulatory requirements to report related fire incidents. Hardly surprising, many insurers are becoming increasingly concerned, and the opinion of many can been summed-up by the following statement: “Fire. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” Better safe than sorry.


Scott Starr is the director of marketing at Scottsdale, Arizona-based Firetrace International.

Firetrace International
http://www.firetrace.com

Other recent wind turbine fires:

A £2 million, 100 metre tall wind turbine catches fire in hurricane-force winds at Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The wind turbine was spinning so fast it caught fire. The engine of the giant turbine went up in flames and its blades were blackened by smoke. The turbine was one of 15 set up on hills overlooking the Scottish coast, built to supply green electricity to 20,000 homes.

SOURCE: Telegraph, UK

An investigation has been launched into the cause of a wind turbine blaze during Thursday's hurricane-force storm.

By Mike Farrell, 

SOURCE news.stv.tv

December 9, 2011

As a standard precautionary measure, all Infinis staff vacate wind farms when wind speeds exceed 55 mph and therefore no one was present on site at the time of the incident.

The turbine in North Ayrshire burst into flames during the storms on Thursday afternoon.

Material from the 328ft turbine broke off during the spectacular fire, which started after the wind farm had been turned off by owners Infinis as wind speeds of more than 55mph had been recorded.

The company, which bought the 30mw farm for £53.8m from Scottish and Southern Energy in 2010, said it was trying to establish the cause of the blaze that broke out at around 3.40pm.

Infinis confirmed the nacelle, which is the white cover housing the generator and gear box of the turbine, caught fire.

A spokesman added: "Infinis confirms that a nacelle on a turbine at its Ardrossan wind farm, in Ayrshire, caught fire this afternoon in extreme stormy weather conditions.

"The fire had extinguished itself before the fire services arrived and did not result in personal injury. As a standard precautionary measure, all Infinis staff vacate wind farms when wind speeds exceed 55 mph and therefore no one was present on site at the time of the incident.

"The local distribution network operator, Scottish Power, was immediately notified of the incident and the site has been disconnected from the electricity network as a precautionary measure. The cause of the fire is not yet known and Infinis has taken immediate steps to investigate the incident fully."

The storm on Thursday caused devastation across Scotland, blocking roads, closing schools and flooding areas as winds of up to 165mph were recorded.

Ardrossan resident Stuart McMahon captured the fire in photos. He said: "I didn’t hear any explosion or anything, but my wife shouted for me to come down and see the fire.

"There are around 13 or 15 wind turbines in the farm above Ardrossan. They were all off today because of the high winds, so something has obviously shorted out and gone on fire.

"The fire was out quickly, but some debris fell from it and drifted quite a distance in the winds. The fire brigade are there, but the turbine was turning in the wind for a while after the fire."

Another resident, Tom Young, caught the blaze on video. He said: "Loads of fire engines and police were called out, but the fire was out pretty quickly.

"It was quite spectacular to say the least."

NEXT STORY

From Indiana:

FARMING COMMUNITY AGAINST WIND FARM

By Rachel Martin,

SOURCE Indiana’s NewsCenter, www.indianasnewscenter.com

December 8, 2011 

The Wells County Plan Commission and Apex Wind Energy held another public meeting Thursday night to give answers and hear more public feedback about the proposed wind farm in southern Wells Co.

The wind was blowing strong in Wells County Thursday night, but not the way the Plan Commission and Apex Wind Energy officials had hoped. The Wells County Plan Commission was supposed to vote on the proposed wind farm project in Chester and Liberty townships, but community members were not allowing it.

A little over a dozen people raised their hands when asked who was in favor of the wind farm. Otherwise, almost all of the approximately 100 people that crowded the Southern Wells High School cafeteria were greatly opposed to the idea.

The community’s main concerns are noise, health risks, and decreasing property values. Residents are worried the hum of the spinning turbines will cause “wind turbine syndrome,” a constant ringing in the ears, and keep them up at night. Apex officials say the turbines would create between 50 and 90 decibels of noise, which is equivalent to the hum of a refrigerator.

A few residents shared their concerns with Indiana’s NewsCenter regarding, “strobe effect,” where light flickers off of the turbine blades. They say shadow flickering could cause seizures and epilepsy. Tim Stepp will have a wind turbine built 1000 ft. from his front door. He also has a relative who suffers from seizures that he and his wife care for. He says the shadow flickering, could exacerbate the problem.

“We are in one of the most intense areas of the entire plan. If this were to happen, my sister-in-law would not be able to stay in our residence. She would then have to relocate and since we are her care givers, we also would have to relocate,” Stepp said.

The biggest issue among residents is the decrease in property values from the wind farm. Residents say they would feel trapped because no one would buy a home close to a wind farm. Allison Alma and her husband just purchased property in Liberty Township to build a home. She said she just found out a 490 ft. wind turbine will be built in her future back yard.

“I paid for all the permits and nobody ever said anything to me about it. My house is probably going to be done in about two months and now I’m sitting there thinking, ‘what am I going to do?’ If I would’ve known, I would’ve never purchased this property,” Alma said.

Alma said her sister happened to be in the Plan Commission’s office one day and noticed a map marking the locations of the turbines. Alma says she tried contacting the Governor and has made numerous other calls trying to figure out her rights to fighting Apex. Alma says if the project is approved, “I’ll probably cry,” she said. “And then I’ll pick up the pieces and maybe we’ll start fighting.”

Both Alma and Stepp say they have not been contacted by anyone from Apex concerning compensation for the wind turbines on their properties.

Nick Huffman is one resident who is in favor of the wind farm project. He says the wind farm will boost the county’s economy. He says Southern Wells High School will receive between $600K and $900K toward Capital Funds Projects, and fire departments in Chester, Liberty, and Nottingham Townships will receive between $8-$20K. He says the wind farms will create more jobs and gain recognition for Wells Co.

“We don’t have anything in Wells Co. to show for. With this, it’s going to get us on the map a little better,” Huffman said.

Apex handed out a packet of questions and answers at the meeting. The packet confirms Huffman’s statements and also addressed the issues of noise, health, and depreciating properties. Apex and the County Plan Commission conducted a study of realtors and appraisers from Benton and White counties in northwestern Indiana where other wind farms are located. Their study shows property values did not go down in those areas, and homes were selling for market price.

Apex and the Plan Commission officials say approximately 200 people have leased their properties for wind turbines in Wells Co. so far. If the project gets approved, construction will begin in the Spring of 2012.

NEXT STORY:

From West Virginia

KEYSER HOMEOWNERS DISTURBED BY TURBINE NOISE

by Katie Kyros,

SOURCE your4state.com 

December 8 2011

[Click here to watch video]

KEYSER, WV - Green Mountain in Keyser has been known a peaceful and idyllic place to live, but in the past month, residents say all that's changed because of 23 new wind turbines that they say are piercing the silence.

"The noise, it sounds like a subway in our yard," says resident William Shillingberg.

"A jet flying around, or a train coming through," says another resident, Donald Ashby.

"It's like someone is setting out front of your house with the base turned up real loud on their vehicle," says homeowner Gary Braithwaite.

They say the culprit is 23 new wind turbines. Pinnacle Wind Farm went into operation on November 4th. Since then, residents say it has disrupted their peace and quiet.

"I have woken up several nights from the windmills," says Ashby.

Residents say the turbines produce a loud, steady noise that's anything but peaceful.

"It's not every day, but it seems like to me in my house, it's every night," says Braithwaite.

Now they're asking Edison Mission Energy to keep them off at night. The U.S. Wind Force says the sound measured no higher than 56 decibels at the nearest residences. However, at the closest home,  it could be heard through the wind, which was measuring at levels above 70 decibels.

Ashby was on the advisory committee for the wind farm.

"Everybody's looking for jobs in our area, so I was in support of it at the beginning," he says.

Many homeowners on Green Mountain are now petitioning Edison Mission. The U.S. Wind Force says none of the energy generated by the wind turbines is going to West Virginia. It's all been purchased by the University of Maryland, and the Maryland Department of General Services.