35 pages, Despite the significance and growth of wind energy as a major source of renewable energy, research on the risks of wind turbines in the form of accidents and failures has attracted limited attention. Research that applies data analytics methodologically in this context is scarce. The research presented here, upon construction of a text corpus of 721 selected wind turbine accident and failure news reports, develops and applies a custom-developed data analytics framework that integrates tabular analysis, visualization, text mining, and machine learning. Topic modeling was applied for the first time to identify and classify recurring themes in wind turbine accident news, and association mining was applied to identify contextual terms associated with death and injury. The tabular and visual analyses relate accidents to location (offshore vs. onshore), wind turbine life cycle phases (transportation, construction, operation, and maintenance), and the incidence of death and injury. As one of the insights, more incidents were found to occur during operation and transportation. Through topic modeling, topics associated most with deaths and injuries were revealed. The results could benefit wind turbine manufacturers, service providers, energy companies, insurance companies, government bodies, non-profit organizations, researchers, and other stakeholders in the wind energy sector.
Bruce, Gordana (author), Critchley, Christine (author), Dempsey, Deborah (author), Gilding, Michael (author), Hardie, Elizabeth (author), Walshe, Jarrod (author), and Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2007
Published:
Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: C27386
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 172 Document Number: C29123
Notes:
Via Knight Science Journalism Tracker. 1 page., Reviews coverage by the Anchorage Daily News and New York Times about uses of wind energy in rural Alaska.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11392
Notes:
25 pages., Via online., "National survey by Pew Research Center, conducted March 27-April 9 among 2,541 adults, finds pockets of partisan agreement over expanding solar and wind power, though wide political divides remain over increasing fossil fuels through such methods as coal mining, hydraulic fracturing and offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, a pattern consistent with a 2016 Pew Research Center survey."
