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

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.

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.

1. Turbine fires can burn for many hours before being brought under control, underlining the importance of early detection and of suppression or containment measures that do not rely on external intervention.
2. Ageing turbine fleets may warrant enhanced inspection regimes as components pass a decade or more of service.
3. Where wind assets sit close to sensitive infrastructure, falling debris and prolonged burning raise the consequence of a fire and should be reflected in site risk assessment and emergency planning.
4. Manufacturer participation in post-incident investigation can help establish root cause and inform fleet-wide corrective action.

windpowermonthly.com/article/1442624/gamesa-turbine-catches-fire-japan