Farmers at risk: Cheap Asian-made wind towers imported without local weld inspections

Repeated wind farm failures have prompted calls for local inspections of Chinese and Vietnamese made turbine towers pouring into Australian ports.

Weld Australia wants all imported wind turbines inspected locally to minimise the risk of collapses, such as at Berrybank in February.

Thousands of cheap Asian-made wind turbine towers are being installed on Australian farms without any local inspections to ensure they meet local steel and fabrication standards, says Weld Australia.

The industry group is demanding the federal and state governments implement a local inspection regime to ensure the 150m towers can support the 125 ton generators and 80m long blades that put them under enormous dynamic load, vibration and stress in some of the nation’s windiest locations.

Weld Australian chief executive Geoff Crittenden said imported towers, 90 per cent of which are made in Vietnam and China, needed to be weld inspected on arrival to ensure they met the Australian or equivalent international standard, rather than relying on the paperwork of their Asian manufacturers and inspectors.

“We’re aware of towers in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania that don’t comply with Australian or international standard,” he said. “There’s no regulations requiring (local) inspections.”

In February this year a turbine collapsed at Berrybank wind farm, while last September the turbine blades at the Golden Plains development fell apart, scattering serrated edging across neighbouring farms and roads.

Older wind farms have also faced problems, with cracks found in 19 of the 40 Chinese manufactured wind turbines at the Stockyard Hill development in 2021.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking said “even if the risk of these Chinese or Vietnamese towers collapsing was low, the impact could be catastrophic – from starting a major bushfire to taking lives”.

“Farmers are working under them and there are roads nearby, plus these things are more likely to fall over on windy days when the fire risk is highest,” Mr Hosking said.

“We need to make sure the infrastructure being built in rural communities meets our safety standards and doesn’t put us at risk.”

Barunah farmer Russell Coad, whose property had pieces of the Golden Plains turbine blades raining down on their farm last September, said “it’s all about this rush to get projects done, (which) means they get away with things”.

Barunah Park farmer Russell Coad had parts of the neighbouring Golden Plains Wind Farm fly onto his property during high winds. Picture: Mark Stewart

When asked about local inspections, Clean Energy Council chief impact officer Arron Wood, who represent renewable developers, said “inspections of wind turbines currently in use across Australia are already widespread at ports of entry and following transportation to project sites and post-construction, to ensure that all equipment and components are structurally sound”.

However Portland-based Prince Engineering business development manager Jeff Wanliss said imported towers might include manufacturers’ data reports showing compliance with international standards after being inspected in China or Vietnam.

“But in reality, when we are engaged to repair imported towers, we have observed quality related issues that would never have passed inspection at our workshop”.

“It’s become more and more important that we have some (local) oversight on these structures coming in,” Mr Wanliss said.

The federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water was asked if any inspection of imported wind towers was taking place, given developers were earning about a third of their income from federal Large-scale Renewable Energy Target Scheme charges on all Australian’s electricity bills.

A DCCEEW spokesman said being part of the LRET “does not absolve projects from the Australian or international steel and fabrication standards and inspections approvals they ordinarily need to have in place in relevant jurisdictions (the states and territories)”.

But Mr Crittenden, who represents 700 corporations involved in welding and steel manufacturing, said the states had no jurisdiction and there were no welding inspections of imported towers.

“Everyone is blaming everyone else,” he said.

The Victorian Opposition has already called for a statewide safety review of wind turbines after recent failures.

But to date the only review being conducted is by Energy Safe Victoria, which is only focused on whether wind turbine generators have carbon dioxide fire suppression systems installed within the nacelle that houses the generator.

Opposition planning spokesman Richard Riordan said people wanted to know towers were safe, given many were the height of Melbourne’s Rialto skyscraper and that they met Australian standards.

“There are hundreds of turbines that have been built that Victorians need to know are right,” Mr Riordan said.

Both Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen and his Opposition counterpart Ted O’Brien failed to respond to questions on enforcing a local turbine tower inspection regime by deadline.