Blade failure triggers turbine collapse at Brazilian wind farm

What happened

A GE 1.7-103 wind turbine collapsed at the 216MW Ventos de São Clemente wind complex in Pernambuco state, northeastern Brazil. According to a local journalist, a blade detached from the turbine during extreme winds, causing the machine to lose stability before crashing to the ground. Wind speeds at the time reportedly reached around 100km/h, far above the typical 8 to 12 metres per second seen in the region. GE confirmed the incident and said it had sent a team of experts to work with the project developer, Echoenergia, which is owned by British venture capital fund Actis, to determine the root cause.

The collapse was the fourth reported failure of a GE turbine in the Americas within five months, following three earlier incidents in the United States, though the manufacturer said those were unrelated.

Contributing factors

Extreme wind speeds of approximately 100km/h, well above the typical 8 to 12 metres per second range for the site, are reported to have contributed to blade detachment and subsequent structural collapse.

Lessons learned

1. A blade detachment on a GE 1.7-103 turbine in winds of 100km/h led to total collapse, so operators should verify extreme-wind shutdown thresholds and blade retention systems for this model.
2. Four GE turbine failures in the Americas in five months require fleet-wide inspection of blade attachment points on similar machines.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Root cause of the blade detachment
• Turbine age and maintenance history
• Duration of lost generation and repair cost

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

Recharge (rechargenews.com)