Damaged Wind Turbine - Controlled Demolition, Inc.

In mid-October of 2022, a wind turbine located near Taft, Texas, experienced a thermal event in causing damage to its nacelle and blades. Given the hanging debris from the damaged wind turbine and the condition of the tower, the wind farm owner decided to keep all personnel and investigators away from the damaged unit until a decision was made on how to safely proceed with the damaged structure. Less than a week later, high winds caused the damaged nacelle and blades to fall to grade near the base of the unit, leaving only the 78-meter-tall tower standing. The wind farm owner subsequently determined that the damaged unit was not a candidate for crane dismantling for reasons of duration of exposure to worker safety and looked for an alternative means of bringing the tower down quickly to reduce exposure of the foundation to tower oscillation and for potential reuse of the foundation for a replacement wind turbine unit.

The manufacturer took the lead and contacted CDI directly regarding our ability to fell the 78-meter-tall tower within a 45-degree arc in a direction that would avoid below-grade collection lines and disruption of debris at grade that had not as yet been inspected by consulting engineers/insurers. The goal was to retain use of the existing foundation for rapid erection of a replacement unit. A main demolition contractor was selected to prepare the unit in accordance with CDI’s plan under the supervision of the CDI field representative. CDI felled the tower at 9:37 AM local time in that direction of fall which would not disrupt debris at grade or cause damage to the foundation.