- Missouri’s largest wind farm has operated at limited capacity for over four months due to turbine collapse investigations. Three turbines fell last year, prompting precautionary measures from the facility’s owner, utility company Ameren, and the manufacturer of the turbines, Vestas.
- The failures were linked to blade detachments, causing imbalances in the turbines, which led to the collapses.
- Most of the 175 turbines remain shut down, with no confirmed timeline for full reactivation.
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Missouri’s largest wind farm, the High Prairie Renewable Energy Center, has been operating at limited capacity for over four months as investigations continue into multiple turbine collapses. The 400-megawatt facility, owned by utility company Ameren, has the potential to power approximately 120,000 homes. However, officials significantly reduced operations after three wind turbines fell to the ground last year.
Why did these turbines collapse?
Danish manufacturer Vestas created the turbines involved. According to Ameren’s director of renewable operations, David Meiners, the failures were linked to blade detachments, which led to an imbalance that caused the turbines to collapse.
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In response, Ameren and Vestas have implemented precautionary measures. These measures include shutting down most of the site’s 175 turbines while the investigation remains ongoing.
As of March 3, the company restarted about 15 unaffected turbines. However, local officials indicated the number of blade replacements required to restore full operations remains uncertain.
“We’ve been reaching out to Ameren to see what was going on for the plan for the wind farm,” local county presiding Commissioner Mark Shahan said. “We heard several rumors and we’ve reached out to them to say you know you have a plan, so basically it’s a pretty broad plan right now. It’s not precise but they are going to replace turbine blades based on data from inspections.”
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What happens next?
Vestas has stated that no injuries resulted from the incidents and that the company remains committed to restoring operations safely. For now, the majority of the turbines remain inactive, with no confirmed timeline for full reactivation.
[Jack]
THE LARGEST WIND FARM IN MISSOURI HAS REMAINED LARGELY INACTIVE FOR MORE THAN FOUR MONTHS-
AS INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE INTO MULTIPLE TURBINE COLLAPSES AT THE SITE.
THE 400-MEGAWATT HIGH PRAIRIE RENEWABLE ENERGY CENTER-
OWNED BY UTILITY COMPANY AMEREN-
IS CAPABLE OF POWERING 120,000 HOMES.
BUT HAS BEEN OPERATING AT LIMITED CAPACITY SINCE THREE WIND TURBINES CAME CRASHING TO THE GROUND LAST YEAR.
THESE INCIDENTS INVOLVED TURBINES MANUFACTURED BY DANISH COMPANY VESTAS.
ACCORDING TO AMEREN’S DIRECTOR OF RENEWABLE OPERATIONS THE FAILURES WERE CAUSED BY BLADE DETACHMENTS-
WITH THE RESULTING IMBALANCE CAUSING THE TURBINES TO FALL.
IN RESPONSE, AMEREN AND VESTAS SAY PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES ARE BEING TAKEN-
SHUTTING DOWN MOST OF THE WIND FARM’S 175 TURBINES WHILE A PROBE INTO THE MATTER CONTINUES.
AS OF LAST WEEK, ABOUT 15 UNAFFECTED TURBINES HAVE BEEN RESTARTED-
HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO LOCAL OFFICIALS, THE EXTENT OF NECESSARY BLADE REPLACEMENTS THAT WILL BE NECESSARY TO GET THE OTHERS RUNNING REMAINS UNCLEAR.
VESTAS STATED NO INJURIES OCCURRED DUE TO THESE INCIDENTS AND IT REMAINS FOCUSED ON RESTORING OPERATIONS SAFELY.
FOR NOW THOUGH, THE MAJORITY OF THE TURBINES REMAIN IDLE, WITH NO CONFIRMED TIMELINE FOR FULL REACTIVATION.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M JACK AYLMER.
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