GE Identifies "Suspect Blade" Turbine Population...

VERMILION CO. (ECWd) -

As reported in the North American Windpower Magazine:

GE has begun investigating another blade break involving its 1.6-100 turbine and 48.7-meter blade, this time at Invenergy's California Ridge wind farm in Illinois. In addition, reports of other recent GE blade failures have surfaced, and the turbine manufacturer says it has notified a group of customers that might have affected blades.

GE went on to state: Overall, Theile explains GE’s so-called suspect population represents about 1.5% of its total blades in the company's wind turbine fleet of more than 22,000. “It’s a very small portion of our blades in the grand scheme of things.”

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ECWd notes:

---  1.5% of 22,000 blades equals 330 blades...it takes fewer problems in automobiles to initiate a recall.

---  Each blade is 160 feet long and weighs approximately 20,000 pounds.

---  Photo is from the turbine failure in Invenergy's California Ridge Wind Farm in northern Vermilion County.