Syracuse, NY – Texas Republicans were quick to blame the state’s wind turbines for the huge power cuts that millions of Texans experienced this week during an unusual blast of cold.
Texas leads the country in wind power, with nearly 15,000 wind turbines producing 23% of the electricity in the Lone Star State last year. Many of the turbines shut down when the cold descended on Texas.
It turns out that only a third of power failures in the state resulted from wind turbines that fail in the cold. Plants using fossil fuels – coal and natural gas – were responsible for two-thirds of power cuts.
But we couldn’t help but wonder why wind turbines in cold weather states like New York can operate in the winter with seemingly little trouble, when their Texas counterparts cannot.
The huge Maple Ridge Wind Farm, in fact, operates year-round in Tug Hill, north of Syracuse, an area famous for its extremely cold winters that usually accumulate 200 inches or more of snow.
We then went to the specialists – EDP Renováveis, which operates Maple Ridge and other wind farms.
EDPR is the largest owner and operator of wind power in New York and the fourth largest in the United States. Locally, in addition to Maple Ridge, operates the Madison Wind Farm in Madison County. EDPR’s wind farms in New York produce enough clean electricity to power more than 298,000 homes in New York.
Amy Kurt, EDP’s senior manager for regional government affairs, said that EDP and other wind power operators in this forest area are equipping their turbines to withstand the cold and, most importantly, the ice that often comes with the cold. .
“There are a variety of cold-weather and anti-ice technologies that are used in wind turbines in the coldest regions,” she said. “These technologies help prevent ice buildup on the turbine blades, detect ice when it cannot be prevented, and safely remove ice when it is detected.”
The ice stuck to the blades of a wind turbine presents major problems. It adds weight and can unbalance the rotating blades, potentially damaging the vital mechanisms of the gears. You can also change the aerodynamics of the blades, preventing the wind from turning them.
Kurt said EDP’s turbines are equipped with sensors that detect ice by detecting the imbalance that the ice causes.
“When there is an imbalance, we know that something is not right,” she said.
The sensors can even tell which blades have ice and which ones don’t. When ice is detected, the heating elements inside the blades turn on to melt the ice.
A wind turbine on Flat Rock Road, part of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lowville. Gary Walts | syracuse.com
For safety reasons, the turbines are turned off while the heating elements melt on the ice, Kurt said. That way, there is no chance that ice will fly from the rotating blades, potentially damaging the turbines or, worse, hitting someone on the ground, she said.
“We prefer the ice to fall below the turbine,” she said.
After the ice is removed, the turbines are rewired and the blades can safely rotate in the wind again.
In Texas, wind turbines are not equipped with such de-icing packages because operators never expected to need them, said Kurt.
“The turbines in Texas are built for the type of temperature they usually get in Texas, where it’s 110 degrees, not 10 degrees,” she said. “It is a matter of cost.”
Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Have a tip, comment or idea for a story? Contact him anytime: The e-mail | Twitter | the Facebook | 315-470-3148