Turbines are now built to withstand events like tornadoes, hurricanes and typhoons because of advances in technology since the early designs of the 1990s. They have built-in mechanisms to lock and feather the blades, changing their angles, when winds reach 55 miles per hour. That reduces the surface area of the blades pointed toward the wind.
“You will lose a blade here or a blade there,” during windstorms, Mr. McLachlan said. But a complete knockout is unusual, he said.
I don't think I've seen anything like this since a hurricane took out a whole wind farm in Hawaii in the 1990s. Quite frankly, the loss of homes and lives is a much bigger deal.