GE wind turbine collapses at Ventos de São Clemente wind complex, Brazil

A GE 1.7-103 wind turbine collapsed at the 216MW Ventos de São Clemente wind complex in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. According to a local journalist quoted by the trade press, a blade detached from the turbine during strong winds at around 10.30am on a Sunday, causing the machine to lose stability before the structure fell to the ground. Wind speeds at the time reportedly reached around 100km/h, well above the typical 8 to 12 metres per second winds in the region. GE confirmed the collapse and said it had sent a team of experts to work with project developer Echoenergia, which is owned by British venture capital fund Actis, to determine the root cause. The incident was reported as the fourth turbine collapse involving GE machines in the Americas within a five month period, following three earlier collapses in the United States that the manufacturer said were unrelated. Injuries are not reported in the source.

Reported wind speeds of around 100km/h, significantly above typical average wind speeds for the site, were cited as a possible factor. A blade detachment reportedly preceded the loss of structural stability, though the root cause remained under investigation by GE at the time of reporting.

1. Turbines should be assessed for structural resilience under extreme wind events well beyond typical site averages, not only long term mean wind speeds.
2. Blade attachment and blade integrity inspection regimes deserve particular attention where similar failures have occurred elsewhere in the same fleet.
3. Where several similar failures occur across different sites and regions in a short period, owners and manufacturers should consider a fleet wide review rather than treating each event as isolated.

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