Suzlon turbine destroyed and two damaged at Amayo II wind farm, Rivas

Three Suzlon S88 2.1MW turbines at the Amayo II plant, part of the 63MW Amayo wind complex owned by AEI Energy in Rivas municipality, Nicaragua, malfunctioned in high winds in the early hours of a Sunday morning, about an hour after a power blackout hit the surrounding municipality. Local press, citing ground staff and firefighters, reported that the emergency braking systems on all three machines failed, leaving them unable to control rotor speed in strong gusts. One turbine's nacelle caught fire and later collapsed to the ground. A second turbine lost all three blades, which were flung off, and a third suffered a broken blade. No injuries were reported and the site was secured afterwards. The turbine manufacturer confirmed the incident but declined to comment on the cause pending investigation. No other turbines at the wider complex were affected.

Local press reports, citing ground staff and firefighters, attributed the failures to a malfunction of the emergency braking systems on the affected turbines during high wind gusts, occurring shortly after a local power blackout. The turbine manufacturer had not confirmed a cause at the time of reporting.

1. Emergency braking and overspeed protection systems should be verified for reliable operation during grid disturbances such as blackouts, which can affect turbine control power.
2. Turbines lacking backup power or fail-safe braking during grid loss may be vulnerable to uncontrolled rotor speeds in high wind conditions.
3. Rapid site securing and investigation after multi-turbine failures helps prevent escalation and supports root cause analysis.

windpowermonthly.com/article/1325609/one-suzlon-turbine-destroyed-two-badly-d...