By Stephen Houston
The catastrophic collapse of a giant wind turbine is being investigated.
A 480-foot high turbine came down in a storm – only the second windmill in
Scotland to crash to the ground.
The astonishing structural failure of the £2 million machine has prompted
demands for information by the community in Barrhill.
The Kilgallioch wind farm is operated by Scottish Power Renewables which
had failed to alert the public to the incident for SEVEN DAYS.
Luckily nobody was near the 160-ton turbine at the time it fell.
The Ayrshire Post’s source says the 328-foot tower “creased” at the access
door at ground level.
The three blades and switchgear were all smashed on impact.
And he added: “Debris was spread over half a kilometre and a crane was been
brought in to try and clear the damage.
“The company was trying to keep things hush-hush and were not keen to say
anything.
“The site is so large and unseen from public roads that the only way to see
the collapse is from the air.
“Local people want the alarm raised as they feel things are going on
unreported.”
It happened during the early hours of Friday, January 13 as the area was
hit by high winds and snow squalls.
At the time 55mph gusts were blowing in from the north west.
The following Friday the company released a basic statement admitting it
had happened.
The tower which fell was still to generate any electricity for the grid.
The £300million Kilgallioch development has 96 mills and will generate 239
mega watts to power up to 130,000 homes when fully onstream later this year.
It will be one of the largest onshore farms in the UK.
Spanish firm Gamesa and Scottish Power are carrying out a joint investigation.
The site is peaty moorland spread over 12 square miles.
One Glasgow-based national energy expert said: “A collapse like this is
extremely rare.
“The whole industry will be keen to know where this steel came from and who
fabricated the tower.
“It is a very worrying development indeed and will have major repercussions
at this site and possibly others.”
The ony other reported collapse in Scotland was ten years ago at another
Scottish Power farm.
A 206-foot tower collapsed at Beinn an Tuirc in Kintyre and the company
said then: “This has never happened before in the UK.”
Other collapses have been revealed in Northern Ireland, California and Denmark.
The Ayrshire Post was alerted to the Barrhill collapse on Friday by an
anonymous caller.
But there was no visible damage either from the main Newton Stewart Road or
the B7027 Drumlamford Estate back route.
Scottish Power refused to answer specific questions on the incident or
provide a photograph of the debris.
The company claimed “all proper reporting procedures have been followed.”
A spokeswoman said: “We are currently investigating an incident relating to
an installed turbine at Kilgallioch Windfarm during the early hours of
Friday, January 13. The turbine was not yet operational and no one was in
the vicinity at the time.”
Scottish Renewables, the sector’s promoter, said wind has a good safety record.
Senior Policy Manager Lindsay Roberts, Senior Policy Manager at Scottish
Renewables, said: “Onshore wind turbines are well-proven and reliable, and
incidents are extremely rare.
“It is important to note that in this case the turbine involved was not yet
generating electricity for the grid and is part of a wind farm which is
under construction.
“The incident has been reported to all statutory authorities and a full
investigation is underway. All involved will look to learn any relevant
lessons to ensure our industry continues its exceptional safety record.”
0 Comments