MidAmerican investigating why 174-foot blade dropped from northwest Iowa turbine

MidAmerican Energy says it's investigating why a blade separated from the hub of a wind turbine in northwest Iowa over the weekend.

What exactly happened with the wind turbine blade?

A 174-foot blade separated from a 262-foot-tall MidAmerican turbine in Webster County, falling into a farm field on Saturday.

No one was hurt and no other equipment was damaged, said Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for MidAmerican, a Des Moines utility owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, in a statement Thursday.

What action is MidAmerican taking in response?

MidAmerican shut down about two dozen turbines so the utility could safely inspect the equipment, Greenwood said.

MidAmerican is working with the blade manufacturer, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, "to conduct a full investigation to determine the root cause of this incident," he said.

What's the status now of the turbines?

MidAmerican has completed most of the turbine inspections and they're back in operation, Greenwood said.

"We will return the remaining four turbines to service soon, provided that they pass our inspections," he said.

Has MidAmerican had previous safety problems with turbines?

MidAmerican has experienced "a small number of incidents of blades that separated or broke," Greenwood said. Over the past decade, the utility has recorded "fewer than 10 incidents throughout our fleet of 3,400 wind turbines at 37 sites in 32 counties."

"Along with our manufacturers, we do everything we can to ensure that MidAmerican-owned wind turbines operate safely to provide our customers with affordable and reliable clean energy," Greenwood said.

Fire departments have responded to two fires at its wind turbines in the past five years.

In October, a MidAmerican turbine near Williamsburg caught on fire as well as the field where it was located. No one was injured, the Williamsburg fire department reported. A fire crew tackled a fire in 2018 in Boone County.

What is wind energy's role in Iowa?

Iowa received about 60% of its electricity from wind energy in 2021, the highest percentage nationally, according to the Energy Information Administration.

MidAmerican has played a significant role in reaching that share, investing $14 billion in developing wind energy in Iowa. The utility proposes to invest nearly $4 billion in renewable energy, with most of the nearly 2,100 megawatts coming from wind.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457. 

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: MidAmerican investigates why blade dropped from northwest Iowa turbine