A 485,000-pound Exelon Generation wind turbine that toppled in February “basically shook itself apart” after a mechanism meant to control its speed failed, according to a company investigation.
All three cylinders of the pitch system in the eight-year-old Vestas V82 1.65-MW turbine in Oliver Township, Mich., suffered oil leaks, according to an investigation by Exelon. The failed pitch system, and 45-mph winds, pushed the blades to rotate at 18 rpm, far more than the 14.4 rpm nominal speed. Nobody was injured, but the $1.5 million turbine was destroyed when it fell to the ground.
All of the other turbines of that model were inspected, and none showed problems with more than one cylinder. It is the only recorded instance of a catastrophic failure of the Danish-designed turbine, officials said.
More: Huron Daily Tribune
Will Talen Energy Be Taken Private?
Riverstone Holdings, Talen Energy’s largest shareholder at 35%, reportedly is leading an effort to take the independent power producer private.
Bloomberg cited anonymous sources in its report, which said Talen has not decided whether to accept that or other offers.
Talen, which spun off from PPL last June, reported a first-quarter profit of $151 million.
More: Bloomberg; The Morning Call
Duke to Build $55M 21-MW Plant at University
Duke Energy will build a 21-MW combined heat and power plant at Duke University that will cut the university’s carbon emissions by 25%. The natural gas-fired plant will fuel a turbine that will turn a generator, and the waste heat will be captured to produce steam for buildings. The project still needs approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
It will be the company’s first foray into heat plants in the Carolinas. The university will sign a 35-year operations contract with the utility.
More: Charlotte Business Journal
Talen to Pay More than $1M for 2005 Fly Ash Spill
Talen Energy will pay more than $1 million to agencies in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey to settle a claim stemming from a 2005 fly ash spill at its Martins Creek Power Plant on the Delaware River.
Under the ownership of Talen’s predecessor company, PPL, a containment basin burst, spilling about 100 million gallons of fly ash and water into local fields, Oughoughton Creek and the Delaware River.
The Martins Creek coal-fired units stopped running in 2007, and the plant was converted to natural gas.
More: LehighValleyLive.com
Six Energy Companies Launch Grid Assurance Sparing Program
Six energy companies have launched Grid Assurance, a company providing shared transmission parts inventory to restore service during emergency outages more quickly.
American Electric Power, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Duke Energy, Edison International, Eversource Energy and Great Plains Energy worked together over a year to form the independent company this month. Kansas City Power & Light Senior Vice President Michael Deggendorf was named Grid Assurance CEO.
Grid Assurance is a subscription-based service open to transmission providers where large transformers, circuit breakers and other system components are stored in warehouses around the U.S., available for quick dispatch in case of a catastrophic event.
More: American Electric Power
ATC Restructures to Facilitate Expansion
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission last week approved American Transmission Co.’s reorganization plan that will allow the company to more easily take on transmission work in other states.
Under the plan, the Wisconsin-based ATC will create a separate holding company specifically for out-of-state investments. The company still needs approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission, whose decision is expected later this year.
ATC spokeswoman Anne Spaltholz said the company is focusing on a string of potential Midwestern projects, in addition to possibly building a line to connect a Wyoming wind farm to California. ATC is also eyeing the formation of a separate transmission utility in Alaska.