Arc flash fire destroys wind turbine nacelle at Maine university campus
Apr 2018Published 14 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- University of Maine at Presque Isle campus
- What
- 600 kW wind turbine nacelle caught fire
- Injuries
- None reported
- Cause
- root cause of the arc flash remained unknown
- Outcome
- nacelle total loss, tower reusable
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): University of Maine at Presque Isle, Vestas
What happened
A 600 kilowatt wind turbine on the campus of the University of Maine at Presque Isle caught fire on the night of 1 April 2018. The fire broke out in the nacelle, which houses the generator and other key mechanical components, and was attributed by Vestas, the company contracted to maintain the turbine, to an arc flash, a type of electrical explosion. The fire burned out on its own. Parts of the campus lost power for several hours that night.
No injuries were reported and no other structures were damaged. According to Vestas the turbine was up to date on maintenance, but the root cause of the arc flash remained unknown. Vestas technicians declared the nacelle a total loss, while the tower and foundation were assessed as reusable, and a 300 tonne crane was brought in to remove the nacelle. The turbine was installed in 2009 at a cost of 2 million dollars. The university submitted an insurance claim and began reviewing options including replacing the turbine or moving to other renewable technologies such as solar.
Contributing factors
An arc flash in the nacelle led to an electrical fire. The root cause of the arc flash was not established, and the turbine was reported to be up to date on maintenance.
Lessons learned
- An arc flash in the nacelle can destroy the assembly even when maintenance is current, so operators should fit arc detection and fast isolation on similar units.
- When the root cause stays unknown, the operator should log the finding and check matching electrical systems across the fleet.
- A single turbine fire can cut power to site loads for hours, so owners of on-site generation must map which supplies depend on it.
More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, investigation and fleet-wide checks, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Exact downtime before removal
- Insurance claim settlement amount
- Final choice of replacement or solar
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-14. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
