Fire at Viking Wind Farm construction site on Shetland

What happened

A fire broke out in the early hours of 29 December, reported as 2023 by inference from the publication date, next to one of the turbines at the Viking Wind Farm on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The 443MW onshore project, which was in development and under construction, is being developed by SSE Renewables and is owned by SSE. Shetland Fire and Rescue Service attended the site and the fire was quickly extinguished.

The operator said nobody was harmed. It stated that a fault in a mobile temporary generator had been identified as the cause and that procedures had been put in place to minimise the risk of recurrence. The incident was made public in early February 2024, after it was discussed locally and reported by The Shetland Times.

Contributing factors

The operator stated that a fault in a mobile temporary generator caused the fire. No other contributing factors were reported.

Lessons learned

1. Inspect, test and maintain temporary generators and their cable connections on construction sites with the same rigour applied to permanent plant.
2. Keep fire-fighting arrangements and emergency access in place for temporary power equipment located near turbines during construction.
3. After an incident, review procedures and communicate the specific measures taken to reduce the risk of recurrence.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, emergency response and public communication, worker safety and safe systems of work, from every incident on the register.

Source

Recharge (rechargenews.com)