As they get older, wind turbines have a hard time keeping it together. Hit ‘em with strong wind and the fun begins. Blades disintegrate, and chunks thereof relocate over vast distances – an exhilarating experience for anyone living, working or driving in the throw zone.
Sometimes the entire hundred-tonne nacelle gets in on the action; suddenly crashing to earth with seismic results. And, if these things are really putting on a show, the 100 metre tower takes a tumble, too.
All part of your exciting wind powered future, don’t you know!?!
Jackson Saylor provides this week’s roundup of turbine tumbles, this time from Missouri, USA.
All northeast Missouri wind turbines taken offline after 1 collapses in Schuyler County
KTVO
Jackson Saylor
3 May 2024
QUEEN CITY, Mo. — All wind turbines in Adair and Schuyler counties have been temporarily turned off while Ameren tries to figure out why the entire top of one turbine fell to the ground late last week and was destroyed.
KTVO is now learning more following pieces of that wind turbine that came crashing down in Schuyler County.
That happened last Friday on Fairview Drive off Route J outside Queen City. No one was hurt in the incident.
That turbine is part of Ameren’s wind farm that was put up in Schuyler and Adair counties in 2021.
Following that turbine collapse, Ameren told KTVO in a statement over the weekend, “Ameren Missouri enacted our response plan and secured the surrounding area. The situation caused no injuries, and we will continue to assess the situation and provide further information as necessary.”
This week, KTVO received information from a viewer in the Greentop area, who told us he didn’t think any of the turbines had been running since the one collapsed last week.
We reached out to Ameren again, and they confirmed that is true, saying in a second statement, “The facility is currently offline. Ameren Missouri continues to work to safely assess the situation, including the inspection of turbines.”
KTVO
STOP THESE THINGS 
When turbine blades break over farms, the crops cannot be harvested and livestock cannot graze. Groundwater cannot be used for drinking, irrigation, or livestock. When it runs into the neighbor’s field, he’s screwed too. Then the windmill owner out-lawyer’s the farmer.
Well how would you everthink that an SMR might last 80 years!