(via Stuart McMahon)
A shower of flaming material from a wind turbine in North Ayrshire, Scotland, have many residents worried about a potential repeat. This day saw extreme winds, clocked at 160-mph (260km/h) from a north Atlantic storm rolling through town.
Turbines have a shutdown procedure when winds exceed a certain speed. A technique called 'feathering' adjusts the blades pitch so they do not spin. See my post about "" for what may happen when the braking system stops during high winds. (Spoiler: the turbine explodes). The manufacturer of the Scotland turbine, Vestas of Aarhus, is unsure of the cause. Gear box failure, brakes, and blade malfunction are some of the possibilities.
Like Japan ending nuclear development after Fukushima, events like these may steer people away from wind energy. Maybe it is for the better, as some say that wind farms have a negative effect of the environment like fossil fuels. To be fair, to accomplish this draining of kinetic energy, there would be wind farms in any direction one looks.
A local resident in the area caught the turbine failure on video. (via tombyoung)
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