Deer Island wind turbine spins uncontrolled, prompting emergency response

Native

Officers consider the damaged turbine might have been despatched freely spinning by robust winds.

A wind turbine on Deer Island spun uncontrolled Monday, prompting a response from emergency personnel.

The issue was noticed round 10 a.m. by somebody strolling by way of the general public entry space close to the Deer Island Wastewater Remedy Plant. The individual observed that the turbine was spinning shortly and had one thing dangling from one among its blades, the Massachusetts Water Assets Authority stated in a press release.

The individual known as 911. MWRA workers and emergency employees responded to the island.

The turbine has been out of service since April 2022 due to a mechanical difficulty, the MWRA stated. It had been locked in place earlier than Monday.

“Though it’s too quickly to invest on what occurred, it seems that this morning’s robust winds broke the braking mechanism and the turbine started to free spin,” the MWRA stated in a press release.

A contractor was known as to repair the 600-kilowatt turbine, which stands 100 ft tall.

By 3:30 Monday the turbine was efficiently stopped and locked again in place. Public entry close to the turbine remained closed “out of an abundance of warning.”

The plant’s operations weren’t affected and no injury was accomplished to the power, the MWRA stated.