Wind turbine catches fire off Wicklow coast during lightning storm
Oct 2022Published 28 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Arklow Bank Offshore Windfarm in the Irish Sea, off Arklow, Co Wicklow
- Owner
- GE Vernova
- What
- Wind turbine on fire
- Injuries
- None reported
- Cause
- Struck by lightning
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What happened
On 19 October 2022, a vessel passing Arklow Bank reported a wind turbine on fire at the Arklow Bank Offshore Windfarm in the Irish Sea, off Arklow, Co Wicklow. The Department of Transport said the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Dublin contacted the turbine owner, GE Renewable Energy, and that no personnel were near the turbine, so there was no risk to life. Reporting attributed the fire to a lightning strike during a storm.
GE Renewable Energy said it would investigate the root cause once the site could be reached safely. EirGrid said the fire had no impact on the grid or on energy supply, and that it resulted in the loss of three megawatts from one turbine at a relatively small offshore wind farm.
Contributing factors
Published reporting linked the fire to a lightning strike during a storm. The owner said the root cause had not yet been determined.
Lessons learned
- An offshore turbine fire can start when no one is on site, so detection and notification cannot depend on personnel being present.
- A passing vessel may be the first to see a fire, so coastguard notification should reach the owner quickly and trigger a safe-access plan.
- Loss of one turbine may not affect the wider grid, but the system operator should still confirm the lost output and any supply impact.
More lessons on detection and monitoring, emergency response and public communication, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Root cause of the fire
- Turbine model and age
- Duration of the outage
- Cost of repairs
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Site page: Arklow Bank wind farm (status, dates and other incidents)
Published 2026-09-28. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
