Wind turbine collapses at High Prairie Renewable Energy Center in Adair County, Missouri
Oct 2026Published 27 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
Get the next one by email
Free alerts on wind (onshore) incidents in the United States, and an email when EIR-2600 is updated. No account needed; unsubscribe in one click.
Get a free sample brief Three complete verified records and the incidents-per-GW table, by email within a minute.
We will also email you about the register's paid records and plans, at most once a week and three times in all. You can stop these at any time. By signing up you agree to the privacy policy.
Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Ameren Missouri
What happened
A wind turbine at the High Prairie Renewable Energy Center collapsed just off Route A, west of Willmathsville in Adair County, Missouri, early on a Saturday morning. Residents reported hearing two loud noises between 4 and 4:30 a.m. The Adair County Sheriff's Office confirmed it had seen reports of the collapse but could not provide further information. Ameren Missouri said it responded, secured the surrounding area and was conducting a comprehensive assessment to determine the cause.
The company reported no injuries and said the energy centre may be periodically offline while the situation is assessed. The report states this is the fifth turbine collapse since 2024 and the first in Adair County. The four earlier collapses were in Schuyler County, the most recent on 26 August of the same year.
Contributing factors
Not reported. The operator states that the cause is still being assessed.
Lessons learned
- Secure the area around a collapsed turbine and establish whether anyone was hurt.
- Where several turbine collapses occur at one site or in one operator's fleet, review the fleet for common causes such as structural design, maintenance or foundation issues.
- Keep neighbours and local authorities informed of expected outages and the progress of the cause assessment.
More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.
Source
Site page: High Prairie Wind Farm (status, dates and other incidents)
Other entries that name Prairie
Other entries that name Renewable
Published 2026-10-27. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
