Commercial Wind Turbines & Earthquakes

Commercial Wind Turbines & Earthquakes

Fairhaven Massachusetts --Earthquake today

What effect will the recent earthquakes have on the Fairhaven commercial wind turbines ?

How safe is the foundation of the Fairhaven wind turbines when it comes to earthquakes ?

Could they have been built any stronger and safer ?

The news media will never say a bad word about commercial wind turbines. The news every day has a story about a lost cat or a dog story but they will never tell you about the Fairhaven North wind turbine that has been going off and on for months on end.

The Fairhaven North turbine is off today after the recent earthquakes in Fairhaven.

A Charlestown wind turbine, installed in October 2011 had to be shut down for months until engineers could stabilize the ground beneath it.

The Charlestown wind turbine was the first installation for the new inexpensive Chinese Sinovel wind turbines being installed also in Scituate and Fairhaven by the same wind development group.

The Charlestown wind turbine base dropped 2 inches below ground level and bolts had to be repaired.
Fairhaven turbines are being built on bedrock. How safe is building on bedrock ? What affect do earthquakes have on these type of turbines ?

The actual fact is building on bedrock without a cage type foundation is the most inexpensive method to install a commercial wind turbine.

The first choice of GE and Vestas wind companies is the gravity base or the cage type. The cage type is the most common type of wind turbine foundation, the gravity base provides a great deal of stability. The weight of the concrete base and overlying soil prevents the turbine from tipping over. The rock area is blasted away and the concrete foundation is built into the rocks.

The Fairhaven Sinovel turbine is only rock anchored. A rock-anchored foundation utilizes a spread-footing foundation that sits on the surface of the soil but includes anchors that extend down through the bedrock and hold a turbine upright.

The inexpensive rock foundation type is less expensive than the gravity base and calls for the existence of surface rock formations that can hold anchors in place.

The two Fairhaven wind turbines are being built hundreds of feet from a bike path, homes and a radio antenna.

The permit applications were approved reviewed and issued by the local Fairhaven building inspector.

What does the Fairhaven building inspector know about 300 ton commercial wind turbine foundations ?

Could the turbine foundations been built better to protect the public and address safety concerns near homes and a bike path ?

Fairhaven has had: (M1.5 or greater)

• 1 earthquake today

http://earthquaketrack.com/us-ma-fairhaven/recent