Latest Fire Damaged Turbine

As well as project delays and a global pandemic, mother nature threw everything at the team. Quite often the technicians had to deal with ever changing weather from severe snow storms and black ice on every road to the extreme cold temperatures.

A project of this nature has to be planned differently to working on any other wind turbine due to the exposure levels the team experience. There are no nacelle walls to shield the wind and no roof to protect from snow and rain.

Freezing temperatures for the majority of January and February meant the conditions 'up top' were also very tricky due to slippery metal surfaces, mixed with a covering of oils which had leaked from damaged oil hoses on the nacelle.

Added to the usual expected winter conditions were the high winds making available work windows few and far between. Especially when man riding basket use was involved.

Due to the restrictions for lifting in high winds, the team often had to plan for working night shifts to make use of good weather windows not available during daylight. Risk assessments were reviewed and several changes were made to enable the team to operate safely.

Lighting towers were placed strategically around the exclusion zone to create near daylight conditions. Additional lighting was set up on the turbine and powerful head torches were used. Additional rest periods were also given for technicians after long shifts.