Fire destroys wind turbine at Clements Gap wind farm
Feb 2024Published 28 Sept 2026
- Where
- Clements Gap wind farm, South Australia mid north
- Owner
- Pacific Blue
- What
- Wind turbine caught fire and was destroyed
- Injuries
- None reported
- Outcome
- Turbine destroyed, $2.2 million damage
Companies named in this entry: Pacific Blue
What happened
A wind turbine caught fire and was destroyed at the 56.7MW Clements Gap wind farm in South Australia's mid north, owned by Pacific Blue. Smoke was spotted by a maintenance crew at 8:30am on a Wednesday and emergency services were called at once. Five South Australia Country Fire Service crews attended. The fire took some time to burn out, and crews put out multiple spot fires from falling debris. A grass fire beneath the turbine burned about 30 hectares.
No one was injured. Pacific Blue said the site had been secured and power to the affected turbine isolated. The cause is not known. Damage to the wind farm was reported as believed to be $2.2 million.
Contributing factors
The cause of the fire is not reported. Emergency services described wind turbine fires as uncommon.
Lessons learned
- Wind turbine fires can produce falling debris that starts spot fires, so operators should plan ground containment zones and rapid isolation.
- Smoke spotted by maintenance crews allows quick emergency calls, so operators should keep routine site patrols during daylight hours.
- A turbine fire at height requires remote power isolation before crews approach, so operators should confirm isolation procedures work from the control room.
Not yet known
- Turbine model and age
- Exact cause of the fire
- Duration of site downtime
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-28. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.