Offshore Wind Blade Winter Inspections 
 
Most ocean wind blades are over 100 meters (about 350 feet) and are hybrid blades.
 
Hybrid wind turbine blades are manufactured by combining materials like carbon fiber and fiberglass. The purpose is cost-efficiency, flexibility, strength, and stiffness. 
 
The blades are built in molds with structural foam and balsa wood infused with resin to create a lightweight, aerodynamic structure.
 
In July 2024, a hybrid blade broke off the coast of Nantucket, dumping 50 tons of fiberglass, foam, and balsa wood into the ocean environment. The blades had never been tested in an ocean environment. Over 60 blades were identified as having manufacturing defects.
 
Since the accident, enhanced monitoring was added, including a new algorithm for existing fiber-optic sensors to prevent future blade failures. 
 
The recent winter temperatures from Maine to Rhode Island have seen temperatures in the single digits. 
 
Hybrid wind turbine blades are prone to cracking in cold weather due to extreme brittleness, ice-induced uneven loading, and fatigue from low temperatures. Ice buildup on leading edges creates structural imbalances and causes rapid micro-cracking, which could lead to severe blade failure. 
 
Cold weather increases "torsional stiffness" and induces fatigue, requiring testing.
 
Following the 2024 Nantucket failure, rigorous inspections should take place.  

 

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Comment by Dan McKay 2 hours ago

I wonder if these blades are monitored with strain guages.

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain 3 hours ago

Top ICE Official in Maine Responds to Platner, Mills, Bellows, and Joyce's Criticisms of Operation Catch of the Day
https://robinsonreport.substack.com/p/top-ice-official-in-maine-res...

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain 3 hours ago

Professor initially denied tenure speaks out; claims DEI criticism a factor
https://wgme.com/news/nation-world/professor-initially-denied-tenur...

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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