Holy Cracking Concrete!

Nova Scotia Power's wind farm on Nuttby Mountain, north of Truro, reported in January that at least 5 of 22 wind turbines were found to have cracked foundations
Now the problem is more extensive, the foundations of at least 19 of the 22 wind turbines installed this past summer at Nuttby Mountain, have cracked
Each of the Wind Turbines at Nuttby Mountain sits on a huge base, and it takes a full day just to pour the concrete. The concrete is made from a waste product from coal burning.
Each turbine foundation contains about 40 tonnes of fly ash that was incorporated into the concrete mixture.
During construction last July at the $120-million wind farm, concrete was not vibrated down to the steel base of the towers.
The repairs involve injecting an epoxy-like sealant into the 400-tonne concrete pads to stabilize the concrete. More -->here<--

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Ticking Turbine Time bombs~ waiting to collapse?

OR NOT WAITING?








November , 2010 Ynn reported that Work on the Hardscrabble Wind Farm Project FAIRFIELD, NY in Herkimer County hit a snag
Atlantic wind is behind the project a subsidiary of the Spanish company Iberdrola .
Ynn Reported that Iberdrola took core samples and found that their structures were not up to standards. They had to take down some towers and bases as a safety precaution.

link here to video and story
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Concrete problems with Wind turbines foundations are nothing new.
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Fenner wind owned by ENEL North America was the largest the wind complex east of the Mississippi when it was built 10 years ago. Fenner had a turbine collapse in December of 2009.

Concrete issues with turbine foundations apparently are becoming a common problem.
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In December of 2009 Hank Sennott, director of corporate affairs and communications for Enel North America is quoted in an interview~
by Martha E. Conway a reporter for the Madison County Courier ~
It was discovered that concrete core samples from the foundations preliminarily showed inconsistent aging and degradation".
“Some of the samples looked like they were poured yesterday,” Sennott said. “Others… Didn’t”

According to Sennott the samples of five or six foundations led to the decision to test all 19 in the project. He said the company is in the home stretch of collecting data and a report is expected soon.
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It took 10 years for the turbine foundation to fail at fenner this prompted them to take the core samples otherwise they may not have tested the concrete. How many other wind complexes are out there with concrete like this?

Are there more Ticking Turbine time bombs waiting to collapse?
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Did the developers of Fenner's wind turbine system, actually pre - determined the wind turbine reaction forces in conjunction with the wind pressure forces on the towers, and the turbine blades themselves to withstand the overturning moments developed, that are being resisted by the soil or rock material that is, part of the anchorage resisting system, as required by New York’s Construction codes?
One issue with wind turbines is that they actually try to unscrew them selves from the ground, due to wind pressure forces. The anchorage systems and subsurfaces are critical factors in wind turbine design.




The latest on the Fenner Collapse as reported ~
By JENNIFER BOGDAN

Observer-Dispatch
Posted Jan 06, 2010
FENNER — No unusual conditions were recorded in the internal computer of a 200-foot-tall turbine prior to its collapse at Fenner Wind Farm, .

Hank Sennott, a spokesman for Enel North America, the company that operates the wind farm, said analysis of data found in the turbine's computer showed:

-- The turbine had been operating normally before it crashed.

-- The blades did not strike the turbine's tower.

-- The rotational speed of the blades was “reasonable” at the time of its collapse.

Those findings suggest that the accident did not occur under the same circumstances that caused another turbine to crash in March 2009 at the Noble Altona Windpark in Northern New York, Sennott said.

The crashes in Altona and Fenner both followed power outages and involved turbines manufactured by General Electric. However, Noble Enviornmental Power, the company that operates the Altona operation, said its turbine spun out of control due to a wiring anomaly.

“It's not that situation at all,” Sennott said, who declined to discuss any other possible causes until an investigation is complete, which likely won't be until the end of January.

link--> here<-- to a story I did on the Fenner Collapes 5/12/ 2010 Titled is fenner an Expirement in motion?


The PSC Altona Turbine Collapse end of Investigation Report 10/18/ 2010 can be viewed--->here<--

Design of Wind Turbine Foundation Slabs .pdf file


Daily Mail Reporter
14th April 2010

Hundreds of Britain's offshore wind turbines could be sinking into the sea because of a design flaw.
It is believed the concrete used to fix some turbines to their steel foundation can wear away, causing the power generators to drop a few inches.
The fault was first discovered at the Egmond aan Zee wind farm in the Netherlands and affects those with single cylinder foundations. Offshore farms are notoriously expensive, and large firms including BP and Royal Dutch Shell have pulled out of the sector.
Sinking turbines could cost British wind farms £50million Mail Online link -->here<-- to story