(UPDATED 12/16/16 – 11:30 a.m.) – As a result of the damaged wind turbine near Minden City, officials from Thumbs Up Snowmobile Club have had to re-route Trail 20 around the accident scene. A spokesman for the group said, coming from the south, a reroute has been planned running west on the north side of Ridley, to Minden Road running the east side to the south side of Wetzel Road east, to the continuation of Trail 20 north all the way to Ruth. New signing for this reroute will be completed Saturday. Riders are instructed to stay on the trail while windmill damage investigation takes place, followed by debris cleanup and a crane is brought in for tower repairs. Early Thursday, a blade from one of the wind turbines in the Minden 10 DTE Wind park, near Minden City, broke off and fell to the ground. A DTE spokesman said the blade fell within the safety area around Minden Tower 10 and was not a danger to the public. Minden City Fire Chief Zach Krammer said small pieces of the turbine continued to fall yesterday, with some pieces near the riding trail and forcing the closure of the trail.
A blade from one of the wind turbines in the Minden 10 DTE Wind park, near Minden City, broke off and fell to the ground early this morning, spreading debris over a wide area. According to a statement from DTE, at 4:07 am this morning, DTE Energy was made aware of a broken blade on its Minden 10 wind turbine. The turbine was shut down immediately, and there were no injuries as a result of the incident.
The blade fell within the safe zone, and remains 50 to 70 feet away from the tower. No pieces were found outside of the approved zoning safe area. Teams from DTE Energy and GE are on site and the area has been secured. DTE immediately notified the town supervisor and will conduct a drone investigation tomorrow. DTE said they are formulating a root cause analysis and a return to service plan.
A Minden City firefighter said small debris continued to fall from the turbine just before noon and as a result, Trail 20 of the County’s snowmobile trail is closed until further notice. An alternate route is being planned.
The damaged turbine is located near the intersection of Minden and Ridley roads, two and a half miles south of Minden City.
