The initial investigation of a fallen wind turbine at Exelon Generation’s Harvest 1 wind farm in Elkton, Mich., is focused on the hydraulic components of the pitch system. The 120-meter Vestas V82 wind turbine fell in late February after a storm brought heavy snow and wind to the area.
“We sent materials from the wind turbine to an independent lab for testing and analysis,” an Exelon spokesperson tells NAW. “Based on testing, we’ve narrowed the focus to the hydraulic components of the pitch system, which controls how the blades move back and forth. We’re conducting a final analysis of the results, and we anticipate we’ll be able to report on those results in the next couple weeks.”
No one was injured in the turbine collapse, which occurred around 5 a.m. ET on Feb. 25. The turbine is one of 32 at the Harvest 1 wind farm, which came online in 2007 and has a generating capacity of 52.8 MW.
On Feb. 19, a wind turbine blade failed at the nearby Sigel Wind Farm in an unrelated incident.
