State-owned Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) Renewable Energy Section on Saturday promised to repair a wind turbine at the Kuanyuan wind farm in Taoyuan County’s Guanyin Township (觀音), after complaints that a blade that broke off last year has been left on a nearby beach.
The Kuanyuan wind farm, constructed in 2004, is the nation’s oldest wind power plant and is equipped with 23 64m tall turbines, which have three 37m long blades that weigh 2 tonnes each.
The broken blade came from the No. 12 turbine. It landed on a beach more than 30m away from the wind farm. The turbine has not been in operation since the blade broke, but the break triggered concerns about the quality of the turbines. The broken part was still on the beach as of Saturday.
Photo: Chiu Yi-tung, Taipei Times
Chen Yi-cheng (陳一成), head of Taipower’s Renewable Energy Section, said the blade could have been damaged by lightning before it came off, but long-term weathering was what had eventually led to the fracture of the blade.
“However, the section acknowledges its negligence over the delay in disposing of the blade,” Chen said.
Chen said that because all the wind turbines are outfitted with a lightning rod and their blades equipped with anti-lightning devices, it is unlikely that lightning could break a blade off.
“However, lightning can still damage the blades, making them more susceptible to breaking after the salt-laden air accelerates its weathering process,” Chen said.
When blade damage is found during routine maintenance checks, technicians try to repair the the blade by applying a special coating to its surfaces, Chen said.
Besides the blade that broke last year, only two others have broken since the wind farm was established, Chen said.
“Those two blades came off seven years ago due to weathering. Because the damage occurred during the warranty period, the turbines’ manufacturer quickly replaced them,” Chen said.
Chen said the division had placed an order with the General Electric Co for a new blade some time ago, but a purchase contract was not signed until March because of delays because of Government Procurement Act (政府採購法) regulations.
The order is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan nearly three months later and the division will install the blade within one week of receiving it, Chen said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS