On the evening of Jan. 2, a single Nordex N80-2.5 MW wind turbine crashed on the grounds of the Screggagh wind farm, located in rural Northern Ireland. The wind farm, powered by eight Nordex N80/2500 wind turbines, opened in March 2011.
No one was hurt in the crash, and the wind farm has remained closed.
‘We are currently investigating the circumstances that led to the collapse of the turbine at Screggagh wind farm,’ according to a joint statement from Nordex and wind developer DW Consultancy. ‘We are, however, satisfied that the site's precautionary health and safety alert processes worked well with local emergency services in attendance within minutes of the incident taking place. There were fortunately no injuries and no personnel on-site at the time.’
The Nordex N80/2500 wind turbine is rated by International Electrotechnical Commission as a Class I machine – meaning the wind turbine is designed to operate at sites that feature wind speeds of up to 10 m/s.
However, when contacted by NAW, Nordex spokesperson Felix Losada declined to speculate whether excessive wind speeds were a culprit in the crash.
