This is what happens when the over-speed braking system fails on a very expensive commercial wind power generator. The video is that of a Vestas wind turbine in Denmark. Not sure of the exact model , but the news report stated that it was a 60 meter tower ( approximately 200 feet), so it was a fairly large unit. The blades are spinning very fast, much faster than normal operating speeds. As you can see in the video from the movement of the tree, there is a fairly large storm passing through the area.

Here is a section of the same video running in slow motion. As you can see, the failure starts in one of the blades. One blade breaks off first, then the others follow. If you look closely in the first video, you can see what’s left of the fiberglass or carbon fiber blades.

Pretty scary stuff, and does a good job of demonstrating how much rotational energy was being converted to electricity at that very moment. I’d like to know the peak power produced when the turbine exploded.

You can read more about it here

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