Wind turbine blade falls at Blackburn Industrial Park, Gloucester, Massachusetts

What happened

A wind turbine at the Blackburn Industrial Park in Gloucester, Massachusetts, lost one of its blades on the morning of Sunday 31 July 2022. Reports reached emergency services around 7 a.m. The City of Gloucester said a mechanical failure caused the blade to drop from the 492-foot turbine. Gloucester Fire set up a 450-foot collapse zone around the turbine as a precaution and closed part of Great Republic Drive. No injuries or structural damage were reported.

Investigators worked with Applied Materials, which owns and operates the turbine, and found that the tower and remaining blades posed no immediate structural concerns. The exact cause of the failure was unknown at the time of reporting. Great Republic Drive later reopened, while the exclusion zone remained limited to Applied Materials' property. The company said the remaining blades had been secured and locked into place while the investigation continued.

Contributing factors

The City of Gloucester attributed the blade detachment to a mechanical failure. The exact cause had not been determined at the time of reporting.

Lessons learned

1. Operators should treat a blade detachment as a mechanical failure requiring immediate inspection of the tower, hub and remaining blades before the asset is returned to service.
2. Exclusion zones should be set with reference to turbine height and blade debris range, and road closures should be coordinated with local fire and highway authorities.
3. Remaining blades should be secured and locked into place promptly, and the investigation should be shared with local officials while it continues.

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

Source

whdh.com