An investigation is underway following the failure of a wind turbine not far from Sidney about a mile south of the Nebraska-Colorado state line Thursday morning.
According to Logan County, Colorado, Emergency Manager Jerry Casebolt, several departments including Sterling and Peetz Fire were called to the scene after the failure was reported between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., finding the tower twisted and folded over in half, with the generator burning on the ground and billowing black smoke.
Casebolt tells us the cause has yet to be determined, and after a similar tower failure in the past near Flemming, it took several months for the project owner and operator to disclose basic details of what had happened.
Readings from the Sidney Airport MesoWest station at the time indicated winds of 16 to 24 miles an hour and gusts up to 31 miles an hour, with a period of light freezing rain and ice fog that preceded light snow.
