HARMLESS WIND ‘MELTDOWN’ OVER IN A WEEK

Rugby wind farm resumes operation after accident
Dale Wetzel, March 21, 2011 (Chicago Tribune)

"A wind energy project in north-central North Dakota has resumed generating power…a week after the rotor and three giant blades on one of its towers plummeted to the ground.

"The wind farm has 71 turbines perched atop steel towers just north of Rugby, about 150 miles northeast of Bismarck, and is capable of generating up to 149 megawatts of electricity. It was inspected after the March 14 accident and judged to be safe to resume operation…"

(from Pierce County Tribune – click to enlarge)

"…[A]n investigation into the cause of the accident has not been completed…[Plant owner-operator Iberdrola Renewables] said the tower suffered a ‘rotor assembly failure.’

"No one was injured…The wind turbine's manufacturer, Suzlon Wind Energy Corp., described the mishap as ‘an isolated incident.’"

click to enlarge

"…North Dakota had more than 1,400 megawatts of wind generating capacity at the end of last year, which ranked it ninth among states…[and] enough wind energy to power 430,000 homes.

"The Iberdrola wind farm sells its energy to Missouri River Energy Services, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., which supplies electricity to 60 municipal utilities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa…"