P.E.I. government to repair Hermanville turbine that lost blade in storm

Raphael Caron · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 10:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Hermanville Wind Farm has been moving astatine reduced capacity since the extremity of December after a tempest took down a ample portion of a leaf connected 1 of its turbines.

Blair Arsenault, an operational technologist at P.E.I. Energy Corporation, said the  incident with Turbine 3, or T3, is inactive nether probe but the damage could've been worse.

"The technicians person gone up the operation and everything is functional retired successful the hub and including the nacelle. So it's decidedly repairable. We volition request a caller leaf and we volition request to bash repairs to the nacelle."

He said T3 will apt beryllium operational successful precocious May oregon mid-June.

While blades are usually expected to withstand storms, Arsenault says harm is not uncommon. In the astir 9 years he's been with the company, he's seen galore instances of this happening.

"So [at] East Point, for example, we've replaced five blades, and astatine Hermanville we've replaced two blades," Arsenault said, excluding the blades that were demolished successful an explosive manner successful mid-June of past year. 

The corporation had already ordered spare blades for its turbines earlier this incident. These parts, which were ordered successful February of past year, are being prepared for shipping from India, wherever they are being made.

"It's a bully thought to person spare parts truthful you tin get your investment back up and running," helium said.

Production and costs

Arsenault said that fall, wintertime and spring are the champion successful presumption of energy accumulation successful the province. He besides said that if T3 was active, it would nutrient astir 1 gigawatt of electricity per month.

As a result, the state is losing $90,000 per period of revenue from this turbine being down.

Although the turbine is inactive nether warranty, Arsenault said the manufacturer won't beryllium paying for the damage. He told CBC News wherefore the warranty wouldn't screen the damage, but said that accusation is privileged.

Arsenault also said the state wouldn't beryllium filing an security claim.

"Our deductible and waiting person grown successful caller years to the constituent wherever you cognize security assertion doesn't marque consciousness for everything that happened astatine the farm," helium said.

Reliable turbines successful the province

The Hermanville Wind Farm was constructed successful 2013 and accounted for $20 cardinal successful contracts.

According to Arsenault, turbines successful P.E.I., which are mostly from the institution Vestas, are mostly good supra mean successful presumption of reliability.

"When the [wind] farms archetypal started retired for the archetypal 3 oregon 4 years, it was 1 of our champion operating turbines," helium said. "Four of the turbines operated astatine greater than 99% availability."

The provincial technologist said the turbines mislaid ratio successful the years pursuing that. The authorities made immoderate improvements successful caller years to guarantee they stay reliable.

"We person immoderate of the champion moving turbines successful North America. You know, North Cape, we person turbines that person been spinning for 23 years," helium said.