Wind turbine collapse at Ravne 1 wind farm near Pag, Croatia
Oct 2017Published 17 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Ravne 1 wind farm on the island of Pag, Croatia
- Operator
- Vjetroelektrane Pag
- Owner
- Adria Wind Power
- What
- One wind turbine collapsed after high winds
- Injuries
- None reported
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Adria Wind Power, Vestas, Vjetroelektrane Pag, WindConsult-Energieprojektberatung
What happened
One of seven wind turbines at the Ravne 1 wind farm on the island of Pag, near the town of Pag, Croatia, collapsed after high north-easterly winds, known locally as the bura and reported at around 100 kilometres per hour, hit the island. The wind farm is operated by Vjetroelektrane Pag and owned by Adria Wind Power. It was built in 2004, with WindConsult-Energieprojektberatung acting as the EPC contractor, as Croatia's first commercial wind farm.
The exact cause was not established at the time of reporting, but it was assumed that one blade broke first, unbalancing the structure. Reporting indicated the roughly 25 metre blade was thrown some hundred metres away by centrifugal force while the other two blades kept rotating, further destabilising the 50 metre, 35 tonne turbine, which then collapsed. The other turbines at the site were reported undamaged. The source does not report any injuries. Damage was estimated at EUR 600,000. The wind farm has a capacity of 5.95 MW and uses seven Vestas 850 kW turbines.
Contributing factors
Extreme wind loading from the bura, reportedly reaching around 100 kilometres per hour, together with an assumed initial blade failure that unbalanced the rotor and led to structural collapse. The operator, Vjetroelektrane Pag, stated that the exact cause was still to be determined.
Lessons learned
- Blade integrity checks should be more frequent at sites that face extreme local winds, as one blade break can unbalance the rotor.
- Imbalance detection and automatic shutdown must be tested often, since a single blade failure can lead to full collapse.
More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Exact cause of the blade failure
- Downtime and lost revenue
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Published 2026-09-17. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
