An investigation is underway after a Vattenfall-operated wind turbine collapsed in the Netherlands, emergency services said.
Teams were called to the incident involving the upper section of a turbine on a dike near Zeewolde on Wednesday, said the local fire brigade.
No one was hurt, but a spokesperson for the emergency services was quoted by local media as saying that it was lucky there was nobody passing when the collapse took place “because the rotor has really made a crater in the road surface”.
Local reports said the incident took place amid strong winds at the 18MW Eemmeerdijk Wind Farm, which was completed as long ago as 1998 and uses two-bladed turbines manufactured by now defunct Dutch OEM NedWind.
Vattenfall said in a statement sent to Recharge: "Blades, nacelle and the top part of the mast broke off and landed on grassland, the service road and the slope of the adjacent dike. No one was hurt, there was no danger for traffic using the road on the dike.
"Yesterday, Vattenfall started removal of the debris, which will be stored for further investigation. All other turbines have been stopped and have been set in safe position."
