Electric arc fire in Vestas turbine at Casa del Aire wind farm, El Bonillo
2012Published 20 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Casa del Aire wind farm, El Bonillo, Albacete, Spain
- Operator
- Renovalia
- What
- Electric arc in control cabinet caused nacelle fire during servicing
- Injuries
- Employee suffered burns to face and hands
- Cause
- Under investigation
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Vestas
What happened
During servicing of a V90-2 MW turbine at the Casa del Aire wind farm in El Bonillo, Spain, an electric arc occurred in the control cabinet and led to a fire. Vestas said a fire-fighting team extinguished the flames within hours and that the fire was stopped from spreading. Local sources said the fire had reached surrounding scrub. Vestas said the other 24 turbines on the farm continued to operate during the response. One worker suffered burns to the face and hands, was taken to hospital, and was later reported to be recovering at home.
Contributing factors
Vestas said the arc came from the control cabinet and that the cause was under investigation. The company described the event as isolated and said it had no information linking it to a design flaw in the V90-2.0 series or to a separate electric-arc fire at a V112 turbine in Germany.
Lessons learned
- Treat an arc in a control cabinet during servicing as a live fire and injury risk until the cause is established.
- Keep a fire response that can contain a nacelle fire quickly, including where scrub or forest is nearby.
- Confirm, rather than assume, that neighbouring turbines can keep running safely while one machine is on fire.
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 electric arc
- Turbine age and service history
- Cost of repairs and lost output
- Length of any turbine downtime
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Site pages: Casa wind farm (Spain), Casa Del Aire wind farm (status, dates and other incidents)
Published 2026-09-20. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
