Subcontracting Wind Turbine Blades and Towers National Security
Land-based wind turbine tower failure
Wind turbine blades are tested by specialized facilities, such as the Massachusetts Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC), which conducts various certification tests to ensure reliability and compliance with international standards.
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By 2019, LM Wind had developed a 351-foot hybrid blade with less carbon fiber for GE wind turbines.
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A prototype "hybrid" blade was sent to the Massachusetts Wind Testing facility for testing and certification. After the certification, 150 blades were produced in Canada for the Vineyard Wind project.
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On July 13, 2024, one of the blades at the Vineyard Wind project broke, spewing 60 tons of microplastics, fiberglass, and balsa wood all over New England. GE Vernova has commenced a comprehensive reinspection program for up to 150 offshore wind turbine blades manufactured at its Gaspee facility in Canada.
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Facilities like the Massachusetts Wind Technology Testing Center conduct testing and certification for wind turbine components, including blades and other parts, but not for the towers themselves.
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In the past ten years, there have been multiple incidents of large megawatt land-based wind turbines with steel tower collapses, raising questions of structural defects or extreme winds.
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Generally, offshore wind steel towers are typically tested by civil engineering researchers and organizations, such as those at universities and specialized laboratories, to assess their structural integrity and performance under various loads.
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The production of a tubular steel tower for a wind turbine requires perfectly bent steel that meets the specific requirements of the wind tower.
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A wind turbine monopile is a large, single-column foundation made of steel that supports offshore wind turbines. It is driven into the seabed to provide stability and can vary in diameter and length depending on the specific project requirements.
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As of April 2025, China's "hybrid" wind towers are set to revolutionize wind power.
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China is producing or subcontracting wind turbine monopiles for European developers of offshore wind projects. The European developers are building offshore wind projects off the East Coast of the United States.
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The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) oversees safety and environmental compliance for offshore renewable energy projects, including the inspection of wind turbine structures like steel monopoles. ..
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The Bureau of Safety and Enforcement didn't take action on offshore wind blades until after the July 2024 Vineyard Wind GE Vernova blade accident.
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Today wind turbine towers are manufactured in locations around the world, with significant production facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
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As the United States grows more dependent on offshore wind, energy security is closely linked to national security, as a reliable energy supply is essential for the functioning of the economy and critical infrastructure. A loss of energy leads to vulnerabilities, impacting everything from economic stability to public safety and defense capabilities.
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Testing blades and towers is a matter of national security..
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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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