Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by TallWhites

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your logic is severly flawed - to put it bluntly

6 units out of 25 thousand fail / year in operation - that is 0.024 % failure rate

your insurance analogy erronosly compares a single driver having 6 crashes / annum - with a fleet of 25 thousand drivers having a total of 6 crashes / annum

see the difference ?

Originally posted by LincolnUK
reply to post by Zemouk

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Ok, for the sake of debate.

Lets say it was -6 in the south, and -10 in the midlands and -15 in the scottish north?

Bearing in mind the most powerful wind farm in the UK is just south of Edinburgh, then why would one fail due to ice in Lincolnshire.

Sorry, the weather argument just doesn't stack up. All of the components used on these wind turbines are designed to stand up to extreme cold.

Originally posted by psycho81
This could be down to something as simple as a faulty bolt from when the turbine was erected and previous weather weakened it even more, we did have some pretty bad winds just before Christmas. Then maybe the cold snap weakened it even more, it had to fail at some point putting more pressure on the remaining bolts eventually weakening them too.

Even when the turbine is rotating very slowly the centre of the turbine will be spinning a lot faster, the blade eventually snapped when in rotation into the path of the other blade warping it on impact. The lights could have been a totally separate event e.g. Fireworks, military craft (strange lights in the sky are pretty common in that area due to the mass amount of airfields in that area)

The blade has probs been sent away for examination to find out who is responsible, the manufactures or the people who erected the turbine. I think there has been a lot of hype due to the media, one mention of a UFO and everyone saw lights in the sky that night put the two incidents together and the next thing we are being invaded.

Originally posted by KIRKSTERUK

Originally posted by NoHopeForSome

Oh, and I didn't see this picture posted anywhere, so I thought I would add it. This is a picture that one of the eye wittinesses, Lesley Wittingham, took.

i.dailymail.co.uk...

CHECK THE THREAD? It's been posted TWICE on the last page! And the incident took place at night. Why are you posting pictures of an incident in daylight and what does it have to do with the Conisholme incident?

[edit on 10-1-2009 by KIRKSTERUK]

Originally posted by LincolnUK
reply to post by Zemouk

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Not ignoring it at all, but having worked as a renewable energy consultant then I do have some insight into the construction of these turbines, and thats why i'm fairly certain a mildly cold night would've had an effect.

Especially bearing in mind the sustained cold periods in december and the higher winds.

It just seems a very strange time for them to fail. But after a lot of investigation and comments, it does appear that mechnical failure is the most likely explanation.

You would however expect that to be particularly obvious to any engineer to see upon a site visit. But from the eco companies viewpoint, having the public believe it was a UFO and not poor workmanship would be far preferable would it not?

Generalities

* Wind farm name : Conisholme Fen Re-submission
* Country : United-Kingdom

Wind turbines

* City : Lincolnshire
* Installation : 2008/05
* 20 turbine(s) Enercon E48/800 (puissance de 800 kW, diamètre de 48 m)
* Total power : 16000 kW
* Total wings surface : 36200 m²
* Developed by : Ecotricity
* Operator : Ecotricity

Installed power and production capacity

* Total installed power : 16 MW
* Yearly estimated production (see below) : 36 GW.h
* Supplied population by this windfamr (estimation, see below) : 14700 habitants
* Computation hypothesis : private consumption including home heating
Source

Rated power:
800 kW



Rotor diameter:
48 m

Hub height:
50 - 76 m

Wind class (IEC):
IEC/NVN II

Turbine concept:
Gearless, variable speed,
variable pitch control

Rotor

Type:
Upwind rotor with active pitch control

Direction of rotation:
Clockwise

Number of blades:
3

Swept area:
1,810 m2

Blade material:
Fibreglass (epoxy resin);
integrated lightning protection

Rotational speed:
Variable, 16 - 30 rpm

Pitch control:
ENERCON blade pitch system, one independent source

Originally posted by psycho81
reply to post by LincolnUK

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Do you have any idea what model the turbine is, been trying to find some specs on it with no luck so far.

Thanks

P81


[edit on 10-1-2009 by psycho81]