A rear part of a nacelle panel on one of the Adwen M5000 (AD 5-116) wind turbines installed on the Alpha Ventus wind farm in the German North Sea has broken off and fell into the sea, the operator of the wind farm reports.
The accident happened on Friday, 06 April, the operator said. The reason for the accident is unknown, and representatives from Adwen are on site to determine the cause.
No one was injured and the debris poses no threat to the environment, according to the operator who notified the operators of the surrounding wind farms about the possibility of finding broken parts on wind farms and in the shipping lanes.
Several vessels have since participated in recovering of the debris, and the regional traffic centre has issued a warning to mariners.
The 60MW Alpha Ventus wind farm comprises six Adwen M5000 wind turbines and six Senvion 5M turbines. The remaining five Adwen M5000 turbines are currently in the idling mode, the operator said.
Alpha Ventus was commissioned as the first German offshore wind farm in April 2010. The wind farm is operated by Deutsche Offshore-Testfeld und Infrastructur GmbH & Co. KG (DOTI), a joint venture between EWE, E.ON and Vattenfall, and it serves as a test-bed for innovative technology.