Drone Fly-By Shows What Happens After a Wind Turbine Meets a Tornado ... This Is Bad
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
In September of 2023, the Biden administration’s Department of Energy announced $72 million in funding for projects aimed at innovating manufacturing processes for wind and water technologies.
The funding, which was part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, included $27 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for research, development and community engagement to support wind energy deployment.
But beyond the rhetoric and the pie-in-the-sky ideals, large-scale wind deployment can face significant real-world challenges.
Drone footage has revealed the devastating impact of a recent tornado outbreak on a major wind farm in eastern Iowa. The Pioneer Grove Wind Farm in Mechanicsville, near Cedar Rapids, was left with significant damage after severe thunderstorms spawned over a dozen tornadoes across the state on May 24, according to Fox Weather.
The aerial video shows a damaged wind turbine with a large blade sheared off by the powerful winds.
Wind turbine caught fire in eastern Iowa, severing a blade and totally destroying the top of the unit. Found after the recent severe weather. Not sure if lightning, high winds or something else to blame. https://t.co/1a65HYW6xY #iowa #iawx #stormhour @spann @KopelmanWX pic.twitter.com/KSRMr0Pzne
— Christopher V. Sherman (@cvsherman) May 30, 2024
According to the National Weather Service, a total of 16 tornadoes touched down in Iowa during the outbreak, with four rated as strong EF-1, packing winds up to 110 mph. Though a tornado also struck Mechanicsville, meteorologists were unable to assign a rating due to the difficulty in assessing wind speeds.
Some other turbines belonging to the energy company MidAmerica were also destroyed. Drone footage showed multiple toppled wind turbines, with one completely engulfed in flames.
Multiple wind turbines at an Iowa wind farm were destroyed by a tornado on Tuesday afternoon, leaving behind burning wreckage. #IAwx pic.twitter.com/yx7G35eFgq
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) May 21, 2024
Tornado ripped down multiple wind turbines and left one in flames. Drone video captured by @JordanHallWX shows impact craters almost 6 feet deep north of Prescott, Iowa.#iawx #wxtwitter pic.twitter.com/GGPDSHzk59
— MyRadar Weather (@MyRadarWX) May 22, 2024
According to LuvSide, a German company that makes wind turbines, there are just a few downsides to wind turbines.
They won’t work if there’s no wind. Environmental factors like calm weather conditions, seasonal variations or obstructions blocking the wind can prevent the turbines from turning.
But wait, there’s more.
They also won’t work if “there is wind but the speed is too low.”
According to the website, wind turbines have a “cut-in” or minimum wind speed required to start rotating and generating power. If the wind speed is too low, the turbine may not operate or it may produce insignificant amounts of electricity.
And, if you think that’s all — think again.
Wind turbines won’t work if the wind is too strong.
According to the website, wind speeds above the “cut-out” limit can be too strong for safe turbine operation, risking damage. Turbines have sensors and brakes to shut down when winds become too high.
And in case it’s not enough that wind turbines can stop working because of no wind, too little wind, or too much wind, the website also warns that they need to be “maintained a number of times per year depending on how old the wind turbine is and under what weather condition it normally operates.”
“Each maintenance process also can last from a few hours to a few days,” the website lets you know, assuring readers that “it’s okay if the wind turbines don’t always turn.”
Wind turbines represent massive investments. They are expensive to manufacture, transport, construct the support structures, connect to the grid and maintain. According to Windustry, a website promoting sustainable energy, a single commercial-scale wind turbine costs around $3 to $4 million with installation, and smaller ones that can — sometimes — power a home can run upward of $80,000.
When violent winds strike a wind farm, the capacity for widespread destruction is immense, as evidenced by the toppled and shredded turbines. Repairing or replacing such widespread damage undoubtedly comes with staggering costs that could quickly erase much of the expected return on investment.
It calls into question the benefits of wind’s renewable energy when weighed against the potential for total asset losses.
Milder coastal regions with steadier wind resources and much lower severe weather risks may prove more suitable for large-scale wind farm investments over the long run.
The impacts of a misjudged location are now evident in the scene of toppled and destroyed turbines likely worth millions of dollars after this single outbreak.
But as long as Democratic lawmakers keep funding them with taxpayer money, why should anyone care?
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