Blade failure in Sørmarkfjellet Wind Farm

For the second time this winter, Aneo experienced a blade failure at Sørmarkfjellet. The first incident was associated with a series of unfortunate events, including exceptionally severe weather, issues with power connections to the park, and downtime. Although the work to determine the final cause of the blade failure in January is not complete, it was suspected that the weather was a factor. 

Now that it has occurred on two turbine blades of another turbine in the park, without particularly challenging weather conditions, Aneo has chosen to shut down the entire area and halt production, pending more information and further investigations. 

After a thorough risk assessment and consultation with internal and external experts, the wind farm is being restarted gradually, and a comprehensive investigation process will be carried out on all blades at Sørmarkfjellet. Technicians will conduct manual inspections of each turbine blade. If there are any discrepancies that cause concern, further investigations will be conducted. 

— We operate over 200 wind turbines at Aneo and have no similar experiences or incidents in the other parks. Therefore, it is necessary for us to ensure that we can operate responsibly and safely by confirming that there are no weaknesses in the remaining turbines, says Aneo's Chief Operating Officer, Børre Sivertsvoll. 

It is too early to conclude the cause, but two incidents in the same park make it necessary to implement additional measures. 

— We rely on good cooperation with the supplier, and they are stepping up to uncover the root causes of these incidents. At the same time, we have questions about why we have had trouble with this type of turbine at Sørmarkfjellet and nowhere else. While waiting for answers from the supplier, we are now conducting thorough inspections of every single blade, says Sivertsvoll. 

Technical investigations, gradual startup, and planning of remediation work are ongoing in parallel. A safety zone of 500 meters has been established around the turbines that are now being restarted, and the 250-meter safety zone around the turbines with blade damage is maintained. Therefore, the park remains closed to the public and employees except for the carefully planned investigations.