Turbine snaps in half in Chatham-Kent, MPP calls for halt of wind projects
'The blade is wrapped around the bottom of it and the engine is on the ground'
A wind turbine in Chatham-Kent, Ont. has snapped in half, leading to calls from one area MPP to halt area wind projects.
The turbine in Raleigh Township, near the corner of Drake Road and the 16th Line, collapsed on itself Friday.
"As we were getting closer you could see in the distance that it was snapped in half .. it's actually one of those 'Oh my goodness [moments]," said Chatham-Kent Ward 2 councillor Karen Herman. "I was so surprised to see something like this. The blade is wrapped around the bottom of it and the engine is on the ground."
No injuries reported
The Turbine is owned by TerraForm Power. The company confirmed one of its turbines collapsed Friday and that crews are investigating the cause.
"The issue did not cause any injuries or impact to the broader community," wrote spokesperson Chad Reed in a statement emailed to CBC News.
Chatham-Kent's Fire and Paramedic Chief Bob Crawford said the turbine has been disconnected from the grid.
"With safety being a priority, workers are currently putting up safety fencing around the broken turbine and Chatham-Kent Police are also present," he added.
Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton shared a photo of the mangled turbine on Twitter and used it as an opportunity to renew calls to stop two upcoming wind projects in the area.
"The Liberal government should put a halt to the Otter Creek and North Kent projects immediately, put a moratorium on them so we can look into the safety issues of turbines," he explained.
Minister of Environment & Climate Change, <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBallardMPP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisBallardMPP</a>: 17 families in Chatham-Kent cannot drink their well water and today, this from one of your local wind turbine projects. I again call for an immediate moratorium on North Kent & Otter Creek wind projects. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/onpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#onpoli</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ckont?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ckont</a> <a href="https://t.co/AEXsXmDwld">pic.twitter.com/AEXsXmDwld</a>
—@MonteMcNaughtonMcNaughton said he was shocked by the pictures of the wreckage.
"There are safety concerns," he added. "There are many families that live near these turbines."
Herman, who lives just 650 metres from a turbine herself, said the toppled turbine highlights why it's important to have rules for how close they can be built to houses.
"Not building these close to homes is very strategically important, environmentally and also for safety factors involved here," she explained. "It's important that we know why it happened and if there are others that could happen for the same reason, that's something we would need to know as well."