Author Topic: Virginia’s risk of offshore wind turbine blade failure is serious  (Read 270 times)

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Offline rangerrebew

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Virginia’s risk of offshore wind turbine blade failure is serious
By
David Wojick
|
July 29th, 2024
 
On July 26 CFACT’s President Craig Rucker sent Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin a letter warning him about the serious risk of blade failure in the giant offshore wind facility being built off Virginia. The warning builds on the recent blade failure off of Nantucket which has littered the beaches with fiberglass fragments. Virginia is also at risk.

In this article I present some technical background on that risk. The facility will be one of the world’s biggest with 176 enormous turbines. It is just getting started with pile driving so no turbine blades have been installed to date. This is an opportune time to undertake caution.

The Nantucket turbines are made by GE and they are the world’s largest in operation today at 13 MW, each driven by three huge 107 meter long blades. That is 351 feet for those of us who do not speak metric. The Virginia turbines will be even bigger at 14 MW with 108 meter (154+ feet) long. They are made by Siemens Gamesa or SG for short.

https://www.cfact.org/2024/07/29/virginias-risk-of-offshore-wind-turbine-blade-failure-is-serious/
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.  George Washington - Farewell Address