Hurricane Sandy had a minimal impact on wind energy projects in the U.S., the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports on its blog.
According to the reports obtained by AWEA from 68% of wind farm operators with projects in Sandy's path, the storm had a small effect on some turbines, but most of those turbines began generating electricity after the storm ended.
However, some companies – including the operator of five turbines near Atlantic City, N.J. – have not yet been able to inspect all of their turbines, AWEA says, adding that another unnamed company that owns a project in West Virginia has not restarted the wind farm yet because the site is located in the mountains and the roads are blocked by snow and fallen trees.
Although wind turbines are designed to tolerate winds of up to 120 mph to 135 mph, they typically shut down at wind speeds of about 55 mph and rotate to face the wind with their blades feathered in order minimize damage, AWEA notes.
More information is available on AWEA's blog.
