Wind turbine blades crash to ground in Perth

BBC The remains of blades that fell from a wind turbine BBC

The turbine blades fell off at about 01:00 on Friday

The blades of a 77m (253ft)-high wind turbine in Perth that has been operational for less than a year have crashed to the ground.

The turbine blades at insurance and investment company Aviva’s Pitheavlis site fell off the tower on Friday morning.

Aviva said its on-site security team were made aware of the incident shortly before 01:00 and said an “engineering fault” appeared to be the cause.

The turbine was officially opened by Aviva group CEO Amanda Blanc and First Minister John Swinney last November.

The remains of a wind turbine in a field with traffic in the foreground

Aviva said it was working with the turbine supplier to determine the cause of the incident

An Aviva spokesperson said: “Thankfully no-one was injured in the incident, and of course safety remains our top priority.

“The area has been secured, and we are working with the supplier to establish the root cause of this incident, as well as on a plan to repair the turbine and restore it safely to operation.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it sent one appliance to the site at 02:00.

A spokesperson said: “There was no sign of smoke or fire and the crew ensured the area was safe before leaving.”

Aviva A man and woman cut a ribbon in front of a wind turbineAviva

Aviva group CEO Amanda Blanc and First Minister John Swinney officially opened the turbine last November

The company said last year that the Perth site had taken “a significant step towards achieving net zero operations” with the opening of the turbine, which was named Aurora by pupils of Viewlands Primary School.

It said the turbine was expected to deliver “100% of the site’s electricity demand, including electric vehicle charging”.

Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser described the incident as “unbelievable”.

He said: “Fortunately, there were no casualties, but it could have been much worse. There is a real danger to people and wildlife.

“It is private land, and people shouldn’t be there but there is risk of children wandering in at night.

“We need an urgent inquiry into this shocking incident.”

Continue Reading