(Adair Co.) A wind turbine blade broke at the Arbor Hill wind farm in Adair County the morning of Thursday, September 17.
Geoff Greenwood with MidAmerican Energy said at this time they do not know what caused the blade failure. He said they are working with Vestas, which is the wind turbine manufacturer.
The blade that broke is 177 feet long. This wind turbine began operating in 2018. Crews plan to install a replacement blade this week.
Greenwood said manufacturers design wind turbines to withstand the typical and even extreme weather conditions we experience here in Iowa, and a blade break is a very rare occurrence.
MidAmerican Energy began investing in wind energy in 2004. MidAmerican Energy currently has more than 3,000 wind turbines (and more than 9,000 turbine blades) in their fleet, all in Iowa. In 2019, MidAmerican Energy delivered 61.3% renewable energy on an annual basis to customers across the state, and they’re on track to reach 100%. To date, MidAmerican has invested approximately $11.9 billion in wind energy projects, creating construction and permanent jobs across the state, and clean wind energy at no net cost to our customers.
