Turbine destroyed by fire at Victorian wind farm near Portland

What happened

A fire broke out at the top of a wind turbine at the Cape Nelson South wind farm near Portland, Victoria, owned by Pacific Blue. Fire Rescue Victoria was called just before 8pm on a Friday and found one blade had already fallen from the turbine, with the other two expected to follow. Firefighters allowed the fire to burn out as there was nothing that could be done to extinguish it safely.

The turbine, a Senvion MM82 with a hub height of 69 metres, was destroyed. Pacific Blue stated that emergency protocols were activated, the site was secured, power to the affected turbine was isolated and no injuries were sustained. The State Fire Investigation Unit opened an inquiry into the cause, expected to take several weeks given the complexity of the scene and the need to ensure investigator safety. It was reported as the first such fire in the Portland wind farm area in around 20 years of operation.

Contributing factors

Cause not yet determined at time of reporting; investigation into the fire's origin was ongoing.

Lessons learned

1. A nacelle fire at 69 m hub height cannot be fought from the ground, so the plan must rest on early detection, remote isolation and a debris exclusion zone.
2. After a turbine fire, the State Fire Investigation Unit inquiry can take several weeks because of scene complexity and investigator safety, so operators should plan for extended downtime.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, investigation and fleet-wide checks, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact cause of the fire
• Turbine age and service history
• Duration of site downtime
• Cost of the damage and lost generation

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

reneweconomy.com.au