Hundreds wait, and wait, to view the rare sight
By Andrew Harris
The word arrived today that the wind turbine which was destroyed in a few in late March was coming down, “about 1 p.m.” By the time I arrived on the scene many other cars, trucks, Amish, and industry personnel were already there. We all stood attentive to the hulking wind turbine, expecting it to fall any minute, for hours on end.
After a long wait, many of us retreated, and rightfully so. It wasn’t until about 5:30pm that a new friend sent a video of an explosion, that didn’t even budge the tower.
An hour later came an update that another charge had been detonated, and still the tower wasn’t dropped. One experienced onlooker noted that the first two blasts may have been “precursor” explosions, meant to set the stage for the eventuality.
A local resident sent word shortly after that the tower was down and no visual confirmation was necessary: It was very loud and sent shockwaves into the nearby hills and valleys.
According to NextEra Energy, the owner of this wind turbine carcass, the unit will be recycled and replaced with a new tower and turbine as soon as possible.
Footage from Jennifer McGregor, Madison Cady and Pamela Heckman Mueller of the falling (and the initial fail) of Tower #13 of the Eight-Point Wind Farm:
Read the latest from the West Union community, now dealing with the ramifications of the March fire:
