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WIND FIRE: NEW QUESTIONS RAISED OVER WIND TURBINE BLAZE IN CAMPO
WIND FIRE: TURBINE EXPLODES, SPARKS BRUSH FIRE IN CAMPO
WILL IBERDROLA USE GAMESA TURBINES OR BLADES AT TULE WIND?
https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/will-iberdrola-use-gamesa-turbines-or-blades-tule-wind <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_8"> <a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastcountymagazine.org%2Fwill-iberdrola-use-gamesa-turbines-or-blades-tule-wind&amp;title=WILL%20IBERDROLA%20USE%20GAMESA%20TURBINES%20OR%20BLADES%20AT%20TULE%20WIND%3F%20%20"><img src="/sites/all/modules/addtoany/images/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" alt="Share this"/></a> </span> <div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-4 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden view-mode-rss"><ul class="field-items"><li class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/16856"> August 2012 Articles</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-5 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden view-mode-rss"><ul class="field-items"><li class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3041">Tule Wind</a></li><li class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/7081">Iberdrola</a></li><li class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/17802">Gamesa</a></li></ul></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden view-mode-rss"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Company ties, history of fires and failures, raises troubling questions</strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">By Miriam Raftery</span></p> <p><img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/turbine%20fire-iberdrola%27s%20bolan-250x188.png" title="Gamesa turbine at Iberdrola wind site in Iowa caught fire in May." align="left" border="1" height="188" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="250" /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">August 6, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – After researching problems with Gamesa wind turbines and blades, ECM asked Iberdrola PR representative Michelle Sinning whether Iberdrola plans to use Gamesa products at the Tule Wind site in McCain Valley.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">“I haven’t<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>heard anything about Gamesa,” Sinning said.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>She indicated she would obtain a statement and get back to us by tonight's deadline (she didn't), but added that Iberdrola will not make a decision on which suppliers to use until after contracts are signed<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>in order to have flexibility to take advantage of the best “pricing and innovations” on the market.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Perhaps Ms. Sinning should do her homework.</span></p> <p><!--break--></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In a December 2011 article titled <a href="http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2134488/iberdrola-gamesa-bolster-wind-power-ties">“Iberdrola and Games bolster wind power ties”</a> , <em>Business Green </em>reported that Iberdrola has announced that it will purchase at least half of the wind turbines it requires between 2013 and 2022 from Gamesa.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">   </span>Iberdrola further controls 19.6% of Gamesa’s shares and has forced management change at the company according to a <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f631ae60-a5a9-11e1-a77b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz22OYFireX">Financial Times story</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Why should we care?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Because Gamesa has a troubled track record of turbines that have caught fire, as well as washing its hands of responsibility for blade failures including those at the Kumeyaay Wind Farm in Campo, right here in East County. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">On May 22, 2012, a Gamesa turbine caught fire at Iberdrola’s Barton 2 Wind Power Project in Iowa,<a href="http://nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.9883"><em> North American Windpower </em>reported</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>A Gamesa spokesman claimed the company’s maintenance contract had expired.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Gamesa turbines have also been linked to two turbine fires in Pennsylvania, including Iberdrola’s Locust Ridge project in 2009 and another fire at <a href="http://www.windaction.org/news/21321">North Allegheny Ridge</a> (not owned by Iberdrola) in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>Iberdrola previously had issues with Gamesa turbine blades whirling off chunks of turbine debris at the same facility. <em>ECM</em> has previously reported on these issues and other turbine safety concerns <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>in an April 4, 2012 report, “<a href="http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/9238">The Dark Side of Green.”</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Both Gamesa and Vestas have <a href="http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/04/vestas-gamesa-warn-of-possible-faults-in-older-turbines/">warned of problem</a>s in older models installed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>However fires at plants with more recent installations make clear that fire and safety issues have still not been adequately addressed. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"><img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/campo%20wind-fallen%20blade-290x218.png" title="Fallen Gamesa turbine blade at Campo wind farm after 2009 catastrphic failure" align="right" border="1" height="218" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="290" /></span>Gamesa has refused to accept liability in five legal actions filed by U.S. wind projects over warranty disputes for hefty repairs and lost production.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>That includes <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>$34.5 million in turbine repairs at the Kumeyaay Wind Farm in on the Campo Indian reservation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>A witness told ECM that he saw a blue flash that radiated out through the wind farm during a storm in December 2009 before the project went dark.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>All 75 blades on all 25 turbines were replaced and the facility was offline for three months.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>(View <a href="http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/casdce/3:2011cv02425/366750/">court documents</a>)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Gamesa blades suffered from “design and manufacturing defects,” the suits allege, <a href="http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wind/article294834.ece"><em>Recharge News</em> has reported. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In December 2011, <em>Recharge </em>reported that Infigen, which recently took over the Campo project, had sent a bill to Kumeyaay after the company was unable to get Gamesa to pay up.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>Kumeyaay has been disputing the claim, contending that Gamesa operated the project for five years. The Campo wind farm was built by Pattern Energy, which listed the Campo project among its “successes” in its application to the California Public Utilities Commission to build Ocotillo Express wind in Ocotillo, California. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/ViewFire-sm-200x284.jpg" title="Wind turbine fire charred 367 acres in Riverside's Whitewater area in June, but authorities won't release information on the turbine make or model " align="left" border="1" height="284" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="200" />Gamesa isn’t the only turbine maker with a troubled record.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>As previously noted, Vestas has been plagued with problems.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">   </span>Last week in Tehachapi, a turbine built by Danish manufacturer NEG Micon <a href="http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/10602">burst into flames</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In June, a wind turbine fire in the Whitewater area of Riverside <a href="http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10581">County charred 367 acres</a> after spreading to become a wild land fire despite <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>the required clearance around turbine bases; fire authorities have not released the name of the turbine maker. The fire, which forced evacuations of homes, could have been far worse had not a witness reported it promptly to 911.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Nor are fires and serious safety issues limited to turbines.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>In Hawaii, on August 2, 2012 a fire destroyed <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>a battery warehouse at First Wind’s Kahuka wind farm.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>A previous fire had also occurred in the battery facility in April 2011, the <a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/164684136.html?id=164684136"><em>Honolulu Star Advertiser </em>reports</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>The battery energy storage system designed by Xtreme Power of Texas had been touted as a solution to power spikes. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In 2009, a GE wind turbine <a href="http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/wind/article173825.ece">broke in half</a> at a New York wind facility <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&amp;sid=aKGQWTob75fM">owned by Enel</a>, a company seeking to build a wind project in East County’s Jewel Valley.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>GE, which has also had problems with ice throws off turbines, <a href="http://site.ge-energy.com/prod_serv/products/tech_docs/en/downloads/ger4262.pdf">now recommends</a> that turbines be sited a safe distance from occupied structures, roads or areas used by the public.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>In May 2012, GE expanded its wind operations by <a href="http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/25667-GE-Completes-Enron-Wind-Acquisition-Launches-GE-Wind-Energy">acquiring the wind division of ENRON </a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>, the energy company that had its chief executives <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/25/business/25cnd-enron.html?pagewanted=all">convicted of fraud</a> following energy market manipulations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>Is this a company whose products should be entrusted to protect public safety?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In McCain Valley, site of the proposed Tule Wind facility, turbines <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>up to 450 feet tall with wing <img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/McCainValley-snowtruck-Klim-300x201.jpg" title="Campground in McCain Valley during a winter snowfall" align="right" border="1" height="201" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="300" />spans the size of football fields would be located just 455 feet from the main roadway and just 760 feet from a campground<a href="http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/9355">, Iberdrola told ECM. </a><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Moreover there is only one road in and one road out of the long valley.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>What happens if a turbine collapses or worse, a turbine sparks a fire while campers are present?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>Or ice is hurled off blades?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">One unlucky man, Mark Ketterling, was <a href="http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk/fullaccidents.pdf">cut in half</a> by ice falling off a wind turbine.  McCain Valley is subject to heavy snowfalls.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Texas<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>state representative described a turbine fire on her ranch as hurling <a href="http://www.ktxs.com/news/Susan-King-Reacts-To-Wind-Turbine-Fire-On-Her-Taylor-County-Ranch/-/14769632/14674202/-/639am5/-/index.html">“balls of fire”</a> to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Another issue is that some rural fire departments lack equipment and ladders tall enough to reach a 450-foot-tall turbine, forcing firefighters on the ground to watch helplessly from below. Aerial firefighting can be impeded by power lines which are present at wind farms, until power is de-energized by SDG&amp;E, in the case of Tule Wind.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>Thus having water storage on site, as Iberdrola has offered to provide, may not be adequate to prevent a turbine fire from escalating into a wildfire fire in an area noted for strong Santa Ana winds and dry brush.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/Harris-Fire-sm-300x225.jpg" title="2007 Harris Fire in East County was fueled by 100 mph hurricane-force winds" align="right" border="1" height="225" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="300" />Mark Ostrander, a retired Cal Fire battalion chief<a href="http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/10501">, <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>testified to San Diego’s Planning Commission</a> that wind turbines in McCain Valley, along with Sunrise Powerlink, “will hamper aerial firefighting.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>He warned, “If we have a fire start in a wind area, we’re going to have to wait until it comes out, for the safety of the firefighters.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">But who is going to protect the safety of campers, hikers, or residents near the recreational area if a wildfire starts at Tule Wind?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">  </span>(Even in a best case scenario with turbines that function properly, there is still increased risk of fire due to towering turbines attracting lightning strikes, as has also happened at wind facilities around the world. View a <a href="https://plus.google.com/102191030161937606640/posts/25q32ScZDBu#102191030161937606640/posts/25q32ScZDBu">photo, posted on the Weather Channel</a>.) </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Is putting hundreds of lightning rods up across East County really a good idea?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Iberdrola commissioned a <a href="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/Iberdrola-fire%20report.pdf" rel="nofollow">study by Richard P. Thompson, PhD,</a> at California Polytechnic State University, on wildfire risks. "The final probability of a fire occurring and escaping containment of 0.0033% should remain fairly stable over the life of the project," he wrote. Soon after, the View Fire in Riverside escaped its project boundaries to scorch 367 acres in a wild land fire.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/wind-damage-giants-sm-200x150.jpg" title="Oil leakage from turbine in Campo" align="left" border="1" height="150" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="200" />It only takes one turbine fire that gets out of hand to wreak havoc across our region.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that the more you build, the higher the possibility of a dangerous conflagration starting from a turbine oil leak, malfunction, or lightning drawn to the towers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">The Bureau of Land Management has approved 65 turbines on federal BLM land as part of Tule Wind.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>San Diego’s Planning Commission recommended denial of five more turbines on private land under country control in McCain Valley for the project.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">San Diego’s Supervisors will have the final say-so on county-controlled turbines sought by Iberdrola at a hearing August 8.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">   </span>Additional turbines for Tule Wind on state and tribal land are still pending.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">I</span><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">berdrola is asking Supervisors to settle for a pig in a poke and to blindly approve a project without knowing whether the turbine components to be used have been implicated in fires or other catastrophic failures. </span><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><img alt="" class="caption" src="/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/resize/2012/August/McCain-ridges-sm-350x263.jpg" title="Rugged terrain in McCain Valley, where blasting away boulders will be needed for construction" align="right" border="1" height="263" hspace="6" vspace="6" width="350" /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Supervisors have many potential reasons to deny permits for Tule Wind, from impacts on property values and community character to endangering public safety. </span>The latter could leave the County liable for damages should a fire or other catastrophe occur, since Supervisors have been duly warned of the potential dangers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:&quot;Verdana&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">If approval is granted, however, Supervisors would be prudent to require evidence that turbine and blade models, as well as manufacturers, have a proven track record of safety, particularly regarding fires--and for Supervisors to reserve the right to revoke permits if products chosen by Iberdrola are deemed unacceptably risky. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li class="addtoany first last"><span><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 a2a_target addtoany_list" id="da2a_7"> <a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastcountymagazine.org%2Fwill-iberdrola-use-gamesa-turbines-or-blades-tule-wind&amp;title=WILL%20IBERDROLA%20USE%20GAMESA%20TURBINES%20OR%20BLADES%20AT%20TULE%20WIND%3F%20%20"><img src="/sites/all/modules/addtoany/images/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" alt="Share this"/></a> </span> </span></li></ul> Thu, 09 Aug 2012 02:48:44 +0000 miriamg 10644 at https://www.eastcountymagazine.org https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/will-iberdrola-use-gamesa-turbines-or-blades-tule-wind#comments