The Murmansk wind park that collapsed

Murmansk harbour [image credit: Martin Lie / Wikipedia]

Too much wind for these wind turbines near the north Russian coast to cope with. The solar panels at the same site also face technical problems. Back to diesel again.

It was an innovative project which was to power several local villages with green energy. Two years after it opened, the strong Arctic winds have knocked down the turbines, says The Barents Observer.

It was cheering and rejoice in Chavanga and Chapoma, the villages on the coast of the White Sea, as a unique small-scale power generating complex was officially opened in late summer 2015.

The new facilities were to provide the local population of 350 people autonomously with round-the-clock power supplies. Included were nine wind turbines with a 10 kW capacity and another four with 5 kW capacity, six diesel-powered generators and 300 solar panels with a total capacity of 75 kW.

Two years on, the wind generators are down and questions are raised about the operation of the solar panels.

According to the regional government in Murmansk, the turbines were taken down because of technical errors. The blades were destroyed and the reason might be icing, regional Minister of Energy and Housing Vladimir Gnoevsky says in a press release.

The minister maintains that the issue is subject to a warranty from the contractor company and that the villages still get the electricity they need from the solar panels and the diesel generators.

However, it might not be that easy.

Continued here.
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Wikipedia states: ‘The climate is harsh and unstable, due to the proximity of the Gulf Stream on one side and Arctic cold fronts on the other. Sharp temperature changes, high winds, and abundant precipitation are common throughout the year, with the heating season lasting for ten straight months. However, the waters of the Murman Coast in the south remain warm enough to remain ice-free even in winter.’