Wind farm shut down as owner investigates collapse of tower

CHATHAM The remaining 51 turbine towers of a wind farm project have been shut down pending an investigation into the cause of the collapse of one of the giant towers Friday.

And while the owner of the renewable energy project looks into the matter, local MPP Rick Nicholls (PC—Chatham-Kent-Essex) is seeking assurances that the other turbine towers that are part of the wind farm in south Raleigh won’t similarly topple over and will be part of “a thorough inspection.”

The MPP said he wants to know the results of the investigation, including the company that built the turbine towers, noting, “there could be a flaw in the engineering, which could cause another one to come down.”

Nicholls is also renewing his call for a moratorium to halt constructing industrial wind turbine projects across Ontario until this and other issues, including the effects on area water wells, are dealt with.

The investigation into what caused a turbine tower to collapse in south Chatham-Kent is going to take weeks, according to the owner of the wind farm.

Chad Reed, director of investor relations for TerraForm Power, said in an email on Monday that a team of experts is on-site investigating what caused a turbine tower to collapse on 16th Line near Drake Road.

“In the meantime, we have secured the immediate area around the turbine and taken the full facility off-line as a precaution as we conduct a site inspection,” Reed said. “We are making progress on the inspection and expect to complete it within the coming weeks. As a precaution, the facility will remain off-line until the inspection is complete.”

The turbine was part of the 52-turbine Raleigh Wind Energy Centre project that went into service in 2011 under the previous owner, Invenergy Wind LLC, before being purchased by TerraForm in late 2015.

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change stated in an email Monday that it is “taking this incident very seriously” and has requested a report from the company about the cause when its assessment is complete.

Nicholls is also concerned about the several wind turbines, owned by different companies, that are located near Highway 401 in Chatham-Kent.

The turbine collapse has also alarmed members of the Wallaceburg Area Wind Concerns (WAWC) citizens group, which already has fears about the effect the Enercon E-141 model turbines will have on water wells and noise levels when they are erected as part of the Otter Creek wind project, to be located north of Wallaceburg.

The turbines will stand 185.7 metres high from base to the top of the turbine blade, which is 30 per cent higher than other turbines erected in Chatham-Kent.