Wind Turbines In Hurricanes?

Here is an interesting read from the NY Times about the impact of very high winds can have on wind turbines. As more and more turbines are installed and proposed for windy areas along coastlines where hurricanes and storms hit there is mounting concern that large storms can topple these wind power machines.

As plans for wind farms rising out of the ocean along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts inch closer to fruition, a new study from Carnegie Mellon University suggests that hurricanes could destroy a significant number of turbines in some of these areas, even coming close to wiping them out.
Bloomberg News

Although turbines are designed to both harness and withstand the forces of wind, they can be severely damaged by too much of it. In the United States, Europe and Asia, turbines have caught fire, blades have shredded and towers have crumpled when hit by stormy gales.

The authors of the study, published on Monday in the National Academy of Sciences magazine PNAS, set out to quantify the likelihood that a hurricane could topple towers in American waters where projects are under consideration or development.

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