Wind turbine collapses

A wind turbine in North Devon collapsed after a strong gust of wind. Welsh renewable firm Dulas installed the turbine, which was supposed to have a life expectancy of 25 […]

A wind turbine in North Devon collapsed after a strong gust of wind.

Welsh renewable firm Dulas installed the turbine, which was supposed to have a life expectancy of 25 years. The company said no one was injured and it is still looking into the main cause of the incident.

A spokesperson said in a statement: “We can confirm that an incident occurred with a turbine in the Bradworthy area of North Devon in the early hours of Sunday morning. We can reassure the local community that due to the isolated location of the turbine, no one was put at risk and we are currently working hard to establish the precise cause of the incident. Our technical team is one of the most experienced in the UK. They are working alongside the turbine manufacturer to conduct a full root-cause analysis investigation. Our initial assessment suggests the turbine did not catch fire, as has been reported. We will continue to keep communication open and provide updates as and when we have further information.”

The 50KW turbine is believed to have been installed in 2010 against the wish of local groups and reports claim a second turbine has been approved in the same area.

Paul Thompson, Head of Policy at the Renewable Energy Association (REA) said: “It is important not to over-react to this incident, given that there are over 3,500 turbines in the UK with a total capacity of over 5.5GW. One benefit of having that capacity distributed across several thousand small generators is that when one goes offline, it doesn’t have a major impact on the grid. However, that is not to take away from the safety concerns this incident raises, which industry will be looking at very carefully.”

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