Wind

Rare turbine fires get 'disproportionate attention' says wind group

Fire at old machine on EnBW wind farm in Germany last week was 'extremely rare' event, BWE says, but environmentalists warn burning wind turbines in forests could trigger fires that are hard to combat

Burning wind turbine at EnBW wind farm in Bremervörde
Burning wind turbine at EnBW wind farm in BremervördePhoto: Local police
European Editor, Recharge

Germany’s wind power association (BWE) downplayed a fire at an EnBW wind park near the northern town of Bremervörde last week, saying such events are "extremely rare" and get "disproportionate media attention".

No one was injured when the fire broke out on the evening of May 15 at an old Südwind 1.5MW S70 turbine with a hub height of 65 metres that is part of a 9MW wind farm, the developer had said.

Asked by Recharge whether incidents and fires at old wind turbines are a reason for concern, BWE managing director Wolfram Axthelm said fires at wind turbines were “extremely rare”.

“The damage rate is in the thousandths of a per cent range. Due to the spectacular images these extremely rare fires generate, they receive disproportionate media attention,” Axthelm said.

According to estimates by a DNV GL analysis cited in an earlier report by Wind Power Engineering Magazine, one in 2,000 wind turbines catch fire each year. The analysis examined all wind turbine fires, regardless of whether they resulted in a total loss of the turbine or not.

“The best protection against damage of any kind is regular inspection and maintenance of the turbines," the BWE's Axthelm said

“The low damage rate of wind turbines clearly shows that such maintenance is carried out frequently enough. Wind energy is and remains one of the safest forms of electricity generation.”

An EnBW spokesperson acknowledged that the turbine that burnt last week was “an old system”, but added to Recharge that “according to our colleagues, it was in very good condition, as it was subjected to annual maintenance and, of course, closely monitored by condition monitoring.

“Unfortunately, I can't comment or assess the condition of damaged systems in general; this was the first incident of this kind for us.”

The local fire department arrived on site with some 100 emergency personnel and initially started firefighting measures.

“The turbine's nacelle burned down completely, while the transformer station remained undamaged,” EnBW said previously.

“Parts of the rotor blades and other components fell into the surrounding area, contaminating the surrounding fields. The fire department and police secured a wide area, and no one was injured. At no time was there any danger to residents or traffic.”

The developer added that it immediately initiated measures to assess and repair the damage, and together with the responsible authorities and appointed experts will promptly clarify the causes of the incident.

The turbine according to local police had been in operation since 2003.

While the turbine fire at Bremervörde happened in the middle of a field, fires at wind turbines in forest areas could cause large forest fires that are extremely difficult to extinguish, German environmentalists have warned, according to the NDR public broadcaster.
(Copyright)

Related

Published 21 May 2025, 05:03Updated 21 May 2025, 06:57
EuropeGermanyEnBWBWE