Turbines at £50m Scout Moor wind farm grind to halt (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Turbines at £50m Scout Moor wind farm grind to halt

3:40pm Wednesday 12th November 2008

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By Alex Willmott »

AN ELECTRICAL fault has caused turbines at a £50m windfarm to grind to a halt.

About a third of Scout Moor Wind Farm’s 26 turbines have not been working as a result of the problem.

Engineers have said that the wind farm will be fully operational shortly but local councillors have criticised its ‘lack of efficiency’.

Coun Darryl Smith said: “It’s a travesty to see the static turbines on the hills.

"£50m was spent on those things and from my window I can see four of them.

“Not one of them is moving an inch and it’s been like this for a while.”

Richard Dibley, development manager for Peel Energy, said: "As part of our normal checks for the wind farm, we discovered an intermittent electrical fault which meant that some of the turbines weren't operating as well as they should have.

"Our engineers immediately investigated and have installed a new piece of equipment to correct this.

"As part of the diagnosis, a third of the turbines were shut down to allow the engineers to run technical tests.

"The remaining turbines are running as planned and generating electricity.

"This won't affect the overall performance of Scout Moor wind farm because we factor in this maintenance time."

The company also moved to deny rumours that the wind farm had rarely been working fully since its opening in August.

The engineers that are currently installing the new equipment for the site are hoping to have the turbines up and running again this week.

Coun Smith added: “The wind farm was launched in the summer, so it’s not as if brand new anymore. It should be working by now.

“From my house I have seen that the turbines have not been consistent.

"I also know people who have seen the other sections of the site and they have reported the same lack of activity.”

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