Wind Turbine Accident Prompts Shutdown

The collapse of a 400 foot wind turbine in Wasco, Oregon has prompted manufacturer Siemens to suspend work on its turbines worldwide, according to the Oregonian. The accident killed one worker, and occurred in light winds, leaving engineers scratching their heads.

According to BusinessWeek there have been thousands of accidents or service calls on wind turbines during the past few years, including a 100 meter turbine falling down in Germany last November.

I haven't heard of any problems with wind turbines breaking during tornadoes, but with the rise in wind energy in the Midwest, it's probably just a matter of time. Perhaps we've been rushing to embrace clean energy without sufficient engineering studies and standards in place. No energy source is benign, and hopefully the industry will learn from this unfortunate accident.