Noble Environmental Power faces questions over wind turbine collapse

An investigation into a wind turbine that collapsed in New York State last year has found that wiring in the machine may have been “incorrectly” installed.

The state’s largest wind developer, Noble Environmental Power, could now find itself required to gain third-party certification for other turbines it has built in the state to answer questions hanging over its operating practice.

The investigation by New York’s Department of Public Service found that the collapse of one turbine and failure of a second at the 65-turbine Noble Altona Windpark was the result of a wiring system that prevented the turbines from being automatically shut down in the event of a loss of electric power.

The day of the collapse – March 6, 2009 – had seen contractors working on a bank of relays at the site, which may have resulted in the loss of power. Turbine 42 and Turbine 59 did not shut down as expected during the incident.

“Questionable”

The New York State Public Service Commission said Noble Environmental had been unable to explain why the “questionable” wiring would have been present in two of its turbines. Therefore, it has asked the wind farm owner if there is any reason why it should require certification of the safety of its other turbines in the state.

Noble Environmental runs 612 megawatts of wind generating capacity in New York State and 216MW in development.

The Commission said the wind farm operator had now introduced a software program that should detect any other instances of bad wiring in its turbines, and that the problem “should not recur”.

But, it said the investigation into the turbine collapse had uncovered “a number of instances where best practices may not have been followed in terms of monitoring operations and where compliance with quality assurance/quality control measures and manufacturer’s recommendations for inspection and maintenance of turbines may not have been fully implemented by Noble”.

“Responsibility”

Commission Chairman Garry Brown said: “This Commission takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure that the electric corporations it
regulates provide safe and reliable electric service.

“As we continue to encourage and promote development of new wind farms in New York State to help us create greater amounts of renewable energy, we must make sure that those installing and operating wind turbines do so properly, and with all necessary safeguards in place.”

Noble Environmental Power has said safety is of “utmost importance” to the company. The firm is currently reviewing the Commission’s ruling.

The Commission said it would be adding a requirement on other wind developers proposing wind farms in the state to secure third-party certification for their turbines.