Home | Site Listings | Borders & Lothians | Northumberland | Durham | Wind Power | Property | Noise | SAFETY | Visuals | Birds | Landowners | Farm Turbines | Dirty Tricks | Press | Contacts | Links | WIND TURBINE SAFETY Quick Navigation: General articles on turbine safety Ice throw Local Accidents. Some UK Accidents. Accidents in other countries. COMPLACENCY AND COVER UP ‗Wind turbine accidents‘, You Tube. While few would contend that turbines are a major threat to public safety (most deaths and injuries are suffered by those transporting, erecting and maintaining turbines), the wind industry is marked by both a reluctance to admit to accidents and a tendency to cover up the failings of the technology.1 In 2011 RenewableUK admitted that there had been over 1,500 reported accidents/‗incidents‘ in the UK in the previous five years, some of which resulted in deaths and serious injuries. There is no requirement for accidents which do not cause death or injury to be reported. A Minister recently confirmed that, “Neither DECC, nor the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), collect specific data for wind turbine accidents.” 2 Most accidents are not noticed unless damage is spotted by the public and the press report it. Examples of industry cover-ups abound. The wind industry always tries to play down the frequency of turbine accidents: for example, in Cornwall in 2006, “Part of a wind turbine blade weighing more than half a ton snapped off and crashed into a field during high winds. Operators Cumbria Windfarms said the site has been running since April 1993 and nothing like this had happened there before.” It had, as several locals pointed out: in 1993, a month after the turbine park opened, they had had a similar accident. Then we had a spokesperson for Scottish Power quoted as saying of a blade accident at Whitelee, “This is a highly unusual situation. I've not heard of this kind of incident happening in 30 years.” 3 This may fool some of the public, but, as is evident from this page, blade failures are fairly common and there were several instances just in the North East and Borders when only a handful of turbines were operating in the area. The Danes are rather more honest. The Technical Approval Authority at the Risø National Laboratory revealed in 2008 that they had recorded the collapse of 15 turbines in the previous three years.4 A Dutch company whose core business is blade repair admits that, “Rotor blade lightning damage is a common problem.”. 5 ------------------------- 1 Written answer, 23 April 2013, (HC Deb, 23 April 2013, c849W). 2 Caithness Windfarm Information Forum has some data on UK turbine accidents. 3 See article below. 4 The Engineer, 26 February 2008. 5 NGup Rotor Blades. German turbine fire. ‗SEND US YOUR BURNOUTS, WE ACCEPT TRADE-INS‘ (Generator Manufacturer's Slogan) Turbine fires are nearly as common as blade accidents, which is no great surprise when you consider that turbines have a combination of large volumes of lubricants, highly stressed bearings and electrical generating sets - brought together at the top of a very high lightning conductor. Modern turbines are too high for fire fighters to use ladder equipment. Unless firefighting helicopters are available, turbines are normally left to burn out, burning off large quantities of oil, plastics and other noxious materials in the process. Catastrophic Danish turbine accident, Live Leak video (22.02.08). SAFE SEPARATION DISTANCES The propensity of very large industrial wind turbines to catch fire, shed blades or bits thereof, throw ice and, occasionally, to suffer catastrophic, high speed blade failures followed by a tower collapse leads sensible people to question their construction close to houses or transport routes. The world wide problem of turbine noise nuisance also underlines the need for sensible separation distances. Other countries have acted on that conclusion. In Scotland there is planning guidance (SPP 6, Renewables) which suggests a 2 kilometre separation distance. Similar separation distances have been put in place in other countries, in Europe, parts of Australia, Canada and the US. Nothing so sensible exists in England and Wales. If anything, things have got worse. In the 1990‘s the DTI was suggesting a 450m separation distance for turbines that then were a maximum of 60m high. Now, with 125m turbines the norm, and turbines of up to 200m being built in France and Germany, there is no suggested cordon sanitaire and we are entirely at the mercy of developers and the haphazard decisions of local planning authorities, many of which have little experience or understanding of wind turbines. Road and Rail The Highways Agency recognises the risks but fails entirely to recommend a separation distance which would protect road or rail users from a turbine accident: Consideration of the risks associated with structural failure and ‗icing‘ identifies the clear need to incorporate a safety margin in the offset between the trunk road boundary and the siting of a wind turbine. Therefore, it is appropriate to achieve a set-back from the nearest highway boundary equal in distance to their height + 10% for micro and small turbines. Commercial turbines should be set back a distance equal to their height + 50 metres. (Network Services, Spatial Planning Advice Note: SP 12/09, ‗Planning applications for wind turbines sited near to trunk roads‘, 13). As is evident from accident reports on this page and academic studies of blade throw, large turbines can throw very large blades, or pieces thereof, weighing many tonnes, for hundreds of metres. Noise The industry routinely proposes building 100-140m turbines within 500m of housing although they are well aware of the noise problems with large turbines. ―A STANDARD PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE‖ Images and video available on EPAW website. “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,” (Press release from Infinis regarding the Ardrossen wind farm fire, 8 December 2011). That must be a comfort to neighbouring members of the public. TWO FACES OF THE WIND INDUSTRY: THE SPIN: ―Fancy a fun-filled family day out at your local wind farm this Bank Holiday Weekend? This August Bank Holiday (27/28 August), on the last weekend before schools go back, families across the UK will be able to visit a working wind farm and touch a turbine as part of the first ever, simultaneous nationwide opening of wind farms – and all for FREE.‖ (BWEA Press release). INDUSTRY WARNINGS: Turbine operating manuals and site noticeboards tell a different story: Vestas, ‗Mechanical Operating and Maintenance Manual, V90 – 3.0 MW‘ (29.06.2007). Crystal Rig warning sign. © 2008 Don Brownlow Photography. THE DTI REACTS The BWEA‘s irresponsibility in encouraging thousands of children to touch electricity generators, and Powergen‘s [now E.ON UK] equally notorious „Hug a turbine‟ TV advertising campaign, eventually caused such an outcry that the wind industry‘s friends at the DTI were forced to issue a warning: “We would not normally advise any member of the public to make contact with installations being used for the supply of electricity,” said a DTI spokesman. “Though the risks to the public from wind turbines are minimal they are large industrial structures and it is sensible to take precautions.” (‗Warning: don't hug a wind turbine‘, The Times, 28 May, 2006). Apparently PR trumps common sense. Wind power station operators continue to ignore safety advice from their own industry and the government: ―There was a range of children‘s craft activities which included making wind chimes, wind socks and there was the opportunity to leave your hand print on one of the turbines‖ [our emphasis]. (‗Duns nursery benefits from Black Hill wind farm cash‘, Berwickshire News, 9 June 2010. Article refers to wind industry open day event). Can you imagine the outcry there would be in parliament and the press if children were invited to leave handprints on electrical transformers? ‗WUTHERING HEIGHTS - THE DANGERS OF WIND POWER Spiegel Online, August 20, 2007. „Wind turbines continue to multiply the world over. But as they grow bigger and bigger, the number of dangerous accidents is climbing. How safe is wind energy? ‗After the industry's recent boom years, wind power providers and experts are now concerned. The facilities may not be as reliable and durable as producers claim. Indeed, with thousands of mishaps, breakdowns and accidents having been reported in recent years, the difficulties seem to be mounting. Gearboxes hiding inside the casings perched on top of the towering masts have short shelf lives, often crapping out before even five years is up. In some cases, fractures form along the rotors, or even in the foundation, after only limited operation. Short circuits or overheated propellers have been known to cause fires. All this despite manufacturers' promises that the turbines would last at least 20 years. ‗Gearboxes have already had to be replaced “in large numbers,” the German Insurance Association is now complaining. “ In addition to generators and gearboxes, rotor blades also often display defects,” a report on the technical shortcomings of wind turbines claims. The insurance companies are complaining of problems ranging from those caused by improper storage to dangerous cracks and fractures. ‗[...] ‗Wind power expert Martin Stöckl knows the problems all too well. The Bavarian travels some 80,000 kilometers (49,710 miles) across Germany every year, but he is only rarely able to help the wind farmers. It is not just the rotors that, due to enormous worldwide demand, take forever to deliver, but simple replacement parts are likewise nowhere to be found. “You often have to wait 18 months for a new rotor mount, which means the turbine stands still for that long,” says Stöckl.