Gia Lai wind power turbine blade breaks during maintenance

One blade of a wind power turbine at the 100-megawatt Ia Pet - Dak Doa 2 wind power plant in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai broke during maintenance on Sunday.

The farm, built at a total cost of over VND3.6 trillion ($152.67 million) in Dak Doa district's Ia Pet commune, has a total 22 turbines provided by Chinese contractor Envision Energy. The broken turbine is marked No. 30, next to the operating station of Ia Pet - Dak Doa 1 wind power plant.

According to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, a quick report by the investor - Ia Pet-Dak Doa Number 2 Wind Power JSC - shows that at about 2 p.m. on Sunday, during quarterly maintenance, technicians appointed by the contractor had opened the blades to change the Nacelle direction. However, they did not close the blades in time amid strong winds, allowing one to break.

"The incident did not endanger any lives or crops," the department said, adding that the investor and relevant contractors are addressing the matter.

Envision Energy, which has a representative office at Charmvit Tower on Hanoi's Tran Duy Hung street, has delivered many turbines to wind power projects across Vietnam, especially Gia Lai province.

Together with Ia Pet-Dak Doa 1, invested by Ia Pet-Dak Doa Number 1 Wind Power JSC, Ia Pet - Dak Doa 2 was built by joint venture EPC Powerchina Vietnam General Contractor and Powerchina Huadong; Thanh An Trading and Investment Consulting JSC, Vietnam Investment Development Construction JSC, and Power Construction JSC No.1.

Earlier, in November, two wind power plants in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang also reported broken turbine blades. They are Quoc Vinh wind power farm in Vinh Hai commune and Hoa Dong 2 wind power farm in Hoa Dong commune, both in Vinh Chau township.

According to the director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Vo Van Chieu, the wind turbines were imported from foreign manufacturers and passed through the necessary tests.

“Their quality might be affected during transportation or assembly,” he said, adding that no human damage was reported after the incident.