423 69 69 comments Add a Comment Breedam 4 yr. ago This was a real tragic story. This can potentially result in wildfires, causing extensive damage to the wider area and ultimately leading to significant reputational damage not only for the individual site but for the industry as a whole. Is putting hundreds of lightning rods up across fire-prone East County, where some storms have caused over a thousand lightning strikes in a single weekend, really a good idea? Ranging from 2 people stuck on a wind turbine that's on fire to a parkour missing his step on a 16 story building, we look at 5. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. October 31, 2013 (Netherlands) - Two young mechanics, ages 19 and 21, died when a fire broke out in a wind turbine where they were performing routine maintenance. Luxembourg Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. A fire can spread down the tower to land surrounding the project if not carefully managed. South Africa CSR turbine fire kills two workers in Inner Mongolia. One of them fell to the ground while the other was recovered at the top. Costa Rica This happened on 29 of October in the Netherlands (in Ooltgensplaat to be more precise). Finland She was injured on the job when she got her hand caught between the yaw pinion and the yaw gear of the wind turbine. Ford County's collapsed wind turbine puts more eyes on a new state law February 23, 2023 Illinois. Our data has only 15 of these (<19%). In recent years, China has seen many cases of wind turbines catching fire, as more and more wind farms go into operation. Indeed, the state plans to transition to 100% renewable . The tragedy in Ooltgensplaat has lead to a political inquiry ('kamervragen' in dutch) into safety precautions for wind turbine maintenance crews. Croatia It is so little we know about wind turbine accidents until this event in October of 2013 happened that took the life of two young mechanics. Tule Wind, an Iberdrola project has been approved by Supervisors and the federal government for construction in McCain Valley near Boulevard in East County. LOCATIONS Since the fire fighting apparatus could not reach the hub height of 80-metres, the fire fighters failed to control the fire. Latvia (View court documents). Energy company confirms wind turbine collapses near Paxton February 17, 2023 . These machines are used to generate renewable energy, such as electricity. Cool. Firefighters have been tackling a blaze at the top of a wind turbine in Hull, with smoke being seen across the city.. The size and type of wind turbine depending on the application. However fires at plants with more recent installations make clear that fire and safety issues have still not been adequately addressed. Video from the scene showed what is believed to be one of the massive GE turbines on the ground with its support structure folded as if it was made of cardboard. The Mendota and Troy Grove fire departments were dispatched to a wind turbine fire north of Mendota. Would like to see some details of the total number of turbine fires world wide over time. Thats a cause for concern among firefighting experts, since aerial drops by firefighting planes cant be done above 500-foot-tall turbines (fire drops work best at 100 to 350 feet), nor can firefighters be put at risk to battle blazes beneath whirling blades hurling off burning debris. Saskatchewan Iberdrola also has an agreement to purchase at least half of its turbines through 2022 from Gamesa, another company with a track record of turbine fires, as ECM previously reported. Neighbors react after wind turbine collapses near Paxton February 18, 2023 Illinois. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Denver fire department received 78 calls in two hours amid flood, Louisiana pastor turns church into hurricane safe haven, Ross Fork Fire prompts evacuations on Idaho reservation, is considered to be one of the worlds largest wind farms. Cyprus Iberdrola previously had issues with Gamesa turbine blades whirling off chunks of turbine debris at the same facility. It was discovered that there are actually wind turbine accidents happening but are rather not being given attention. RELATED: Unique study: birds avoid wind turbine blades Vattenfall.com | Mattias Dahlstrm | 28 FEBRUARY 2023 Seabirds deliberately avoid wind turbine rotor blades offshore - that is the main finding of a new study that mapped the flightpaths of thousands of birds around wind turbines in the North Sea. North Dakota Bulgaria Sri Lanka Solar shingles are a comparatively new kind of solar panel which is designed to look like normal roofing shingles. U.K. Powered by the wind, turbines are an environmentally friendly way to produce electricity. Perhaps you should be advocating that the wind industry must have a well-trained and well-monitored workforce, so that unnecessary events like the one described become less likely to occur. To make things worse, winds will also pick up today, likely exceeding 40 mph at times. U.S. One of them jumped down and was found in a field next to the turbine. If they did, wind farms wouldn't be allowed as they are now. Jamaica Funeral services will follow at 12:30 a.m. If the blades of a wind turbine become entangled in objects they can break and cause injuries. Installation of fire suppression systems at all three ignition sources typically costs less than $30,000 less than 1% of the average installation cost of a 3-MW onshore wind turbine and less than 0.6% of the average cost of a fire loss. This article does not distinguish between gearbox turbine and gearless turbines (also called direct drive). Nov. 24, 2013 -- Talk about bad press. The tragedy occurred at Deltawind's Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands, but highlights the hazards associated with fires caused by wind turbines. The utility company said the cause of the incident is under investigation, but the scene looked similar to the destruction of a wind turbine in Texas after a direct lightning strike in late July. If you would like to contribute to Windpower, please contact us: https://www.windpowerengineering.com/meetourteam/. -->, [Google-powered results by relevance], Add NWW headlines to your site (clickhere), Later Post News Watch Home Earlier Post , Credit: By Miriam Raftery | Even assuming an average of one fire per 2,000 turbines per year, based on incomplete reporting of fire incidents, a wind farm can expect to face one to two fires over the course of its operational lifetime. A Texas wind turbine caught on fire after being struck by lightning on Friday, according to video taken by a man who was working in the area. Mariana Islands Cookie Notice Saint Martin I Am Latina, But LeBaron Does Not Represent Me! New York Oregon A witness told ECM that he saw a blue flash that radiated out through the wind farm during a storm in December 2009 before the project went dark. Link: https://youtu.be/MVHzfUWul2Y Which is the best seaplane ever made? When an electrical fault produces an arc flash or sparks, surrounding plastics in the electrical cabinet can quickly ignite other sources resulting in total loss of a nacelle. Most turbine fires originate in the nacelle, typically at three points of ignition: converter and capacitor cabinets, nacelle brake and transformer. If its any consolation, two other mechanics on duty were able to survive the wrath of such an accident. Hawaii It is one of the most effective means of generating electricity. Ireland Blogs The tragedy occurred at Deltawinds Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands, but highlights the hazards associated with fires caused by wind turbines. Wind turbines are one of the most efficient sources of electricity generation, and they require very little maintenance. The two men, only 19 and 21, were burnt on top of a wind turbine in Deltawinds Piet de Wit wind farm in the Netherlands. Wind turbines are used to convert wind energy into electricity. Fire trace only reacts when the heat is on. Angela Krcmar has over 10 years of experience in the fire protection industry focusing on the renewable sectors including wind and battery storage. I would be interested as to why this didn't happen. Aruba Hours before the fire gutted his home to ashes and . British Columbia Another wind turbine caught fire this summer, but this time it happened across the pond. Heres how to reduce that, Selecting the right remote operations partner for your wind portfolio. Saint Lucia Texas U.S. Department of Energy History of U.S. Wind Energy The continuing accidents just prove that they have not shaped up their turbines. Locust Ridge is a 128MW two-stage wind farm operated by Avangrid Renewables . Two maintenance personnel were in the nacelle eliminating frequency converter faults. Select There are many benefits to using a wind turbine for renewable energy. The 356 GE turbine-powered wind farm spans two counties in Oklahoma andis considered to be one of the worlds largest wind farms. But who is going to protect the safety of campers, hikers, or residents near the recreational area if a wildfire starts at Tule Wind? Northern Ireland Two workers die on top of a burning wind turbine. I won't defend those companies and municipalities thatdon't maintain things they make money off of in a way that keeps them safe and reliable, but asan educatorwho does know better, to openly take the position that turbines are inherently dangerous is faulty logic. East County Magazine | The turbine was a 1.75 megawatt Vestas V-66. According to the Netherlands Times, because of the height, the fire department initially had trouble extinguishing the fire in the engine room. The fire started in the afternoon, but it took until evening for a special team of firefighters to arrive and ascend with a large crane. Puerto Rico Getting there is easy. Norway I am amazed turbines have such little protection against fire, flash detection there shouldnt be a need I thought about trying to slide down the blades as best you could to shorten the fall but then found out there's pretty gnarly teeth towards the end of the blade. CROWELL, Texas (CNN) - The blade of a wind turbine caught fire last week in Texas after it was struck by lightning. Bats are being killed by wind farms. Indiana Japan MIT researchers revealed that light solar cells can be the future of renewables with its superior solar power-weight performance. But after creating a Google alert for the term wind turbine fire, ECM has received clips from media outlets around the world documenting that in fact, wind turbine fires are far more common than the industry would have prospective buyers believe. Antigua and Barbuda var dropdown = document.getElementById("cat"); This video sample gives a glimpse of a probable incident that may lead to disaster.Know more: https://www.ask-ehs.com/Follow us facebook https://www.facebook.com/AskEhsConsultantsFollow us linkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-ehs-engineering-consultants-pvt-ltd The nacelle brake, which is commonly found behind the gearbox, is another component that can be an ignition point, albeit due to friction rather than electrical failure. Wind turbines can also damage property and interfere with aircraft. Moreover, Boulevards fire station has been closed most days over the past three months. By Angela Krcmar, Global Sales Manager, Wind, Firetrace International. San Diego Supervisor Dianne Jacob has voiced grave concerns over fire dangers posed by wind turbines in our backcountry, but other Supervisors ignored the fire risks, pushing through approve of the Tule Wind project as well as a County wind ordinance that opens up more rural areas for wind energy development. Vermont Wales If the wind industry is to thrive in the coming years, it must take action to manage and protect against fire incidents. Especially the 3 most likely areas of ignition. Gamesa blades suffered from design and manufacturing defects, the suits allege, Recharge News has reported. Horizontal axis wind turbines use the winds force to turn the blades while vertical axis turbines use the winds force to rotate a shaft that sends power down to a generator. Submitted by hiker gal on Thu, 10/31/2013 - 08:43. [ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=58313 ], By Miriam Raftery | Korea Transformers, located in the nacelle or at the base of a turbine, are the second most-common ignition point for wind turbine fires.
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