14 DAY TRIAL // Extreme weather in Scotland is toying with the fate of renewables, raising a few extra questions regarding their real reliability and safety standards. The alarmed public witnessed a dangerous fire, as a result of the explosion of 300ft wind turbine, generated by powerful winds.
Authorities indicate 70,000 households were left in the dark, with no access to electricity. Strong wind and rain coming from the south provided an apocalyptic landscape, displaying overturned lorries, closed roads and bridges, Daily Mail informs.
Transportation suffered a great deal under the influence of bad weather conditions, and so did 50,000 of the total number of clients ScottishPower has, since they had to deal with disturbing power shortages.
The explosion shocked the people living in Ardrossan, from North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to an eye witness, the blades were not functioning at that time, because of a power surge incident.
It seems that the center of the turbine was the first component that started burning and the fire has expanded to all the blades in no time. Stuart McMahon managed to immortalize the rare event by taking a few pictures. Since these are resistant, giant structures, their explosion was considered a “spectacular sight.”
As a result of these impressive, although dramatic incidents, several residents were compelled to leave their homes and the road was closed. The company behind this renewable project says its wind turbines are worth £2million ($3.1 million/€2.3 million).
They did not blame extreme weather for this dangerous incidents, stating the turbines started burning because the giant structures “suffered brake system failure and had been freewheeling.”
Although wind turbines are designed to provide energy without exposing local communities to any kind of risks, since they come with self-protection mechanisms to help them cope with strong winds, modern green technology didn't do the trick in this case.
The developers did not want to reveal how many wind turbines were significantly affected by the unexpected fire, or how much money they will have to come up with to cover the damage. The financial aspect ranks second in this case, since this incident could count as a dangerous precedent, minimizing the confidence of people in the safety standards displayed by renewables.
[UPDATED DECEMBER 12, 2011]: The article contained factual errors, as pointed out by our readers. We have since updated it to be accurate.