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113-foot blade falls off New York windmill, lands in field
Associated Press ^ | Feb 12, 2016 8:06 AM EST

Posted on 02/12/2016 8:26:17 AM PST by Olog-hai

An energy company says it's trying to determine why a 113-foot-long blade fell off a windmill in central New York. [...]

Town official say they believe a bolt may have failed on the 187-ton windmill, one of 20 located at the Fenner Wind Farm, which was built in 2001 on a hill 15 miles east of Syracuse. ...

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; US: New York
KEYWORDS: fenner; oops; syracuse; turbine; windmill; windpower
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To: Blue Jays
On a positive note, one would die helping promote green energy, so there is that small comfort.

Does that get you your 72 virgins?

21 posted on 02/12/2016 8:41:52 AM PST by NorthMountain ("The time has come", the Walrus said, "to talk of many things")
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To: laplata

Don’t hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning!


22 posted on 02/12/2016 8:43:54 AM PST by aomagrat (Gun owners who vote for democrats are too stupid to own guns.)
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To: Olog-hai

This is my fear of carnival rides. I do not believe the companies that build carnival rides hire the best engineers. You would think an MIT graduate builds bridges and such, not carnival rides. Hence, “we think a bolt may have failed” would be a common refrain at carnivals.


23 posted on 02/12/2016 8:44:25 AM PST by rey
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To: laplata

I just read that in the Wall Street Journal.


24 posted on 02/12/2016 8:46:59 AM PST by Tax-chick ("We have no values in common with Saudi Arabia."~ Daniel Greenfield)
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To: Olog-hai

I talked with a mechanical engineer who worked on these things. He says they require a lot more maintenance than most people realize. Tremendous torque is generated by the blades, which puts a lot of strain on the gear box and connector parts.

He also said that once government subsidies run out the owners pretty much stop maintaining them.

Decaying wind farms are going to be the top public safety issue of the 2020’s.


25 posted on 02/12/2016 8:47:19 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Olog-hai

Probably hit a big flock of birds ...


26 posted on 02/12/2016 8:48:41 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
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I can fix it. My dad is a TV repairman and has an awesome set of tools


27 posted on 02/12/2016 8:48:54 AM PST by dsrtsage (One half of all people have below average IQ. In the US the number is 54%)
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To: rey
This is my fear of carnival rides.

While once discussing fear of heights with a co-worker he observed that he did not mind heights at all but would never get on a carnival ride. I asked why, and he said he once worked at a job assembling them and knew how they were put together.

28 posted on 02/12/2016 8:51:46 AM PST by ken in texas
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To: Olog-hai
An energy company says it's trying to determine why a 113-foot-long blade fell off a windmill...

Gravity?

29 posted on 02/12/2016 8:54:54 AM PST by ConservaTexan (February 6, 1911)
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To: Olog-hai

There’s a Don Quixote joke in here somewhere, I just know it.


30 posted on 02/12/2016 8:58:14 AM PST by DemforBush (Ex-Democrat, and NOT for Jeb. Just so we're *perfectly* clear this time.)
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To: butlerweave

With that vintage, likely to be German


31 posted on 02/12/2016 8:59:42 AM PST by Ready4Freddy
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To: Olog-hai

google “abandoned wind farms” and look at the pics!


32 posted on 02/12/2016 9:03:35 AM PST by Fireone (The future must belong to those who tell the truth about Islam.)
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To: Olog-hai
They believe a bolt may have failed? Helluva safety factor ya got built in there hoss! One bolt fails and it's adios super ginsu knife!
33 posted on 02/12/2016 9:05:10 AM PST by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: CopperTop

No way “a bolt”. Each blade is secured by 50 - 100 bolts......


34 posted on 02/12/2016 9:09:15 AM PST by Arlis ( A "Sacred Cow" Tipping Christian)
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To: Buckeye McFrog
Decaying wind farms are going to be the top public safety issue of the 2020s.

Note to self: Move somewhere with no wind.

35 posted on 02/12/2016 9:10:29 AM PST by Tax-chick ("We have no values in common with Saudi Arabia."~ Daniel Greenfield)
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To: Arlis
“a bolt”

More like a series of bolts that had not been properly torqued, leading to a cascading failure.

Was the proper torque verified by an independent third party?
Please show us the paperwork!

36 posted on 02/12/2016 9:17:46 AM PST by DUMBGRUNT (Looks like it's pretty hairy.)
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To: DUMBGRUNT

Cannot imagine the installer not torquing the bolts to specs - not on a million dollar plus piece of machinery.........


37 posted on 02/12/2016 9:23:12 AM PST by Arlis ( A "Sacred Cow" Tipping Christian)
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To: Arlis

They expected the last bolt to hold it all together. All the other bolts were just cosmetic. They made a nice pattern.


38 posted on 02/12/2016 9:23:39 AM PST by 1_Rain_Drop
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To: Olog-hai

The bird that it hit must have been huge. /s


39 posted on 02/12/2016 9:24:27 AM PST by BuffaloJack (Slavery will continue to exist and thrive as long a Islam continues to exist.)
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To: Olog-hai

One bolt and the blade goes flying?


40 posted on 02/12/2016 9:30:26 AM PST by dljordan (WhoVoltaire: "To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.")
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