Gamesa turbine destroyed by fire at JFE Engineering wind farm in Chinzei

What happened

A 13-year-old Gamesa G80 2MW wind turbine at the JFE Engineering wind project near Chinzei, in Saga prefecture on the Japanese island of Kyushu, caught fire at around 3pm on 21 August 2017. The fire burned for roughly 16 hours before it was extinguished. Local news footage showed debris falling from the 30-metre tower during the blaze. The turbine, located about 800 metres across a body of water from the Genkai nuclear power plant, was destroyed.

No injuries were reported. At the time of reporting no cause had been given, with police and fire crews investigating and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy supporting JFE Engineering, the wind farm owner and operator, in the investigation. It was reported to be the second time a turbine in the area had been damaged by fire, following one during commissioning in August 2004.

Contributing factors

No cause had been confirmed at the time of reporting; the fire was under investigation by police and fire crews with support from Siemens Gamesa, the turbine manufacturer. A prior incident in the same area in 2004 was attributed to sparks from a brake applied during a typhoon, which ignited a nacelle fire, though this is not stated as a factor in the 2017 event.

Lessons learned

1. A nacelle fire on a 30-metre tower can drop debris, so operators must set exclusion zones and avoid ground-based firefighting.
2. Fires at sites 800 metres from nuclear plant raise site risk, so emergency plans must account for proximity.
3. Repeat fire damage at the same wind farm shows value in reviewing prior incidents for patterns.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact cause of the fire
• Duration of turbine downtime
• Cost of the damage

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

Source

Windpower Monthly (windpowermonthly.com)