UK Edition
Giant wind turbine blade falls across autobahn in German truck crash
A German autobahn was blocked when the blade of a wind turbine fell across the road on Tuesday morning.
The giant turbine blade fell when the transporter which was transporting it was involved in an accident on the A33 autobahn near Bielefeld.
The blade was knocked across the entire width of the autobahn when another lorry ran into the back of one of the transporter’s escort vehicles.
The 61-year-old driver of the second lorry was injured in the incident, which left his vehicle badly damaged.
“Half the lorry was crushed,” a police officer on the scene told Rheinische Post newspaper.
The motorway was closed in both directions, causing several miles of traffic jams.
Police said it was not clear how the blade could be removed, and that the Autobahn would not be reopened before Tuesday afternoon at the earliest.
Germany is the third largest producer of wind energy in the world, behind the US and China. More than 26,000 turbines produce 13 per cent of its electricity.
The country has invested heavily in wind power as part of Angela Merkel’s energy transition policy, under which Germany aims to produce 60 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.
Last year it produced almost a third of its electricity from green sources, chiefly wind and solar power.
The accident will not help the chronic traffic jams in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state.
Severe overcongestion on the state’s roads was a major issue in regional elections at the weekend.