A freak explosion in a turbine at one of Vila do Bispo’s wind farms last week caused horrific burns to two workers, both of whom are now fighting for their lives in separate hospitals.
But as investigations attempt to discover what caused the explosion – the second in one of Vila do Bispo’s “parques eólicos” in less than a year – local fire chief José Pedro has gone on record over what appear to be huge security failings in the sector.
Failings, he agreed, that could “very easily compromise public safety”.
José Pedro was talking after being approached by the Resident as we ourselves tried to discover who is responsible for maintenance of the Vila do Bispo wind farms – one of which is 18 years old and, as such, close to the accepted ‘end date’ for turbines, as stipulated by manufacturers.
The telephone number for the promoting company of both Vila do Bispo ‘parques’ I and II, as well as nearby Raposeira and Lagoa Funda wind farms – as stated on the site of the official body representing renewable energy in Portugal – rings “unobtainable”, with the advice to call the operator on 118.
The operator gave us “an alternative number”, which again raised no one after 9am on Monday morning.
Another call to 118 gave us “another alternative number”.
When we asked how many alternatives there are for Unit Energy, we were told there are “eight numbers available” but that these can only be obtained by separate calls – and on the basis that the previous number has not worked.
We gave up after trying six alternative numbers, and called the fire station.
That is when the extent of the administrative fog surrounding wind parks in Portugal finally emerged.
“We’re talking about huge security failings,” José Pedro told us. “These parks appear to be in the hands of a web of intermediaries – all of them presumably making money, but no one apparently accountable.
“As fire chief in Vila do Bispo, for example, I have no numbers to call – no contacts in the event of an emergency.
“Last year, we had a fire 100 metres high in a turbine’s rotor.
“Nobody in charge of the park turned up. In the end, it was the kind of emergency that you just have to leave to burn out on its own. We established a perimeter around the area; put out the fire that debris caused when it fell to the ground – but throughout the incident, no one “responsible” was in touch with us.
“In last week’s incident, which was much more serious as it involved terrible injuries to two maintenance crew, again – at least to my knowledge – no one in any position of ownership or responsibility turned up.”
The issue is further compounded by the fact that one of the ‘parques’ is getting dangerously close to technological obsolescence and again no one appears to know what is being done about it.
“These turbines appear inoffensive,” Zé Pedro explained. “But if something like a blade falls off, there could be a real disaster. These things can travel 300 to 400 metres, and the main road to Aljezur is just alongside the land that houses these turbines.”
Study shows wind turbines “wear out after 12 years”
Against a backdrop of well-researched data by former energy advisor to the World Bank Prof. Gordon Hughes revealing turbines wear out “twice as quickly” as their manufacturers suggest, we returned to APREN (the body representing renewable energy investment in Portugal) to ask who “checks” that Portugal’s wind farms are in good shape.
“This is not within our remit,” said a spokeswoman. “Our concerns are more with details like the amount of power produced and physical information, as you can see from our website.”
Posing the question of machine maintenance and obsolescence to the owners of other wind parks in the Algarve brought similar non-committal responses.
A spokeswoman for E.on Renováveis, which owns the large wind farm near Bensafrim, simply referred us back to APREN, saying they did not answer questions about maintenance or obsolescence.
APREN agreed “this does appear to be a failing. It is not important to us, but I can see that the issue could be very important to others”.
APREN referred us to the Ministry of Energy and Geology, where a spokeswoman said any questions had to be presented in writing.
Stressing the urgency for a reply to our ensuing email, at time of writing we had still heard nothing.
A video compilation showing “wind farm issues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=334&v=zr3z_7iQ35s
By NATASHA DONN natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
