Wind Turbine Fires
WHITE PAPER
Wind Turbine Fires
Dwindling fossil fuel supplies and Even though the reported number wind turbine. The nacelle region
changes in global climate have is small, it represents a high cost houses the three elements of the
increased the interest in renewable in lost production, valuable assets, fire triangle in the form of fuel (oil
energy. Wind energy is one of the and in some cases personnel. and polymers), oxygen (wind),
renewable energy sources that is Wind turbine fire almost always and ignition source (electrical,
experiencing substantial growth result in a total loss and a single mechanical, and lighting) all in a
worldwide. In the United States turbine can cost as much as four confined small compartment within
wind turbine energy production million dollars. Then there is lost close proximity of each other.
has increased over 700% in the production due to downtime if the The nacelle carries the main
past ten years. turbine is restored or replaced. “fuel load” within a turbine. It
These wind turbines experience Finally, these fires have the is constructed of polymers and
failures and setbacks, which can potential to emit toxic fumes as contains insulation and a variety
lead to accidents that include their construction material burns. of cables and oil. As per the
both property and personnel loss. Reports suggests that burning industry report a single 1.5 MW
One recognized factor for these debris from the wind turbine wind turbine nacelle can contain
accidents is fire. fires causes damage to nearby up to 900 liters of lubricating oil
properties, farms, and forests. The including cooling and cleaning
Fire is second only to blade failure loss in the power will disrupt the fluids, excluding the transformer
and is one of most common daily life of people which causes a oil reservoir which is located at
factors causing property and spiral of other financial losses and the base of the tower which can
personnel loss. public trust. contain up to an additional 2,200
A total of 337 fire incidents were Statistics show that 90% of the liters of Class B material.
reported and the table below fires originate in the nacelle of a
presents the total by year:
Year Before 2000- 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 *18
2000 2004
No. 7 62 14 12 21 17 18 13 20 19 24 19 19 28 24 19
* to 30 September 2018 only http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk/AccidentStatistics.htm
Fires in a turbine are difficult A suggested fire alarm Third party certification labs
to combat due to their height system would include smoke like DNVGL have created
and their construction in remote detectors, automatic shutdown specifications for the certification
locations. With regard to offshore interconnections for the turbine of fire protection systems for wind
wind turbines an added obstacle is itself and system monitoring by turbines (DNVGL-SE-0077.)
transporting the response crew to a supervisory control and data There are many obstacles that
fight the fires due to their location. acquisition (SCADA) system. must be overcome in order to
Research suggests that the main Most widely used fire suppression provide better fire protection for
ignition sources for fires in turbines systems in wind turbines are wind turbines including:
are: Novec 1230 systems and aerosol • Currently there no legal
• Lightning strike systems. requirements to provide fire
• Electrical malfunction Active fire suppression systems detection or suppression
• Mechanical failure installed in the turbines must be measures on wind turbines.
• Maintenance activities easy to install and maintain in • Poor statistical records for wind
(like hot work etc.) order to keep the costs low, space turbine fires are hindering the
and weight considerations in check research effort.
When a fire ignites in the wind
and must be considered while • Inadequate information about
turbine it can spread quickly due
choosing a suppression solution. fire protection of wind turbines
to high volumes of air flow, which
in the codes and standards.
provides a supply of oxygen to Offshore wind turbines use Active • Training of response teams is
the fire that helps it grow rapidly. Fire-Fighting System (AFFS) that not keeping in step with current
Thus, the suggested fire protection detect fires and automatically and and projected industry growth.
solution for wind turbines would extinguish them. These systems
include both passive and active fire require less human intervention: Our future dependency on this
protection measures. they use intelligent fire detection renewable energy will continue to
and suppression through grow with the decrease in the fossil
Passive Fire protection of wind
preprogrammed values and fuels. Some protection technology
turbines involves:
algorithms. has seen enhanced development,
• Installation of lightning
but in general, the industry is not
protection systems. Electrical systems used on the keeping pace. In order to meet
• Selection of noncombustible turbines are protected by circuit the growing energy demands,
materials in the construction breakers, busbars, residual current stakeholders in the wind power
• Compartmentalization of the devices, semiconductor fuses, industry must come together and
nacelle area and/or current monitoring devices. work towards a common goal
• Using noncombustible
Industry Standards used in fire of protecting wind turbines from
hydraulic and lubrication oils
protection of wind turbines are: fire accidents.
• Installing monitoring systems
• NFPA 850 Recommended
to check condition of the
Practice for Fire Protection for
machinery
Electric Generating Plants and
Active Fire protection of wind High Voltage Direct Current
turbines involves: Converter Stations. (Mostly
• Fire detection and alarm used in North America)
systems • Directive 2006/42/EC. (Mostly
• Fire suppression systems used in Europe)
Sources
https://www.abcofire.com/wind-turbine-fires/
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/153886/fires-major-cause-wind-farm-failure/
https://www.ediweekly.com/overheated-bearings-gearboxes-among-causes-wind-turbine-fires/
http://www.iafss.org/publications/fss/11/983/view/fss_11-983.pdf https://www.windpowerengineering.com/
business-news-projects/fire-prevention-protection-wind-turbines- offshore/
https://rules.dnvgl.com/docs/pdf/DNVGL/SE/2015-03/DNVGL-SE-0077.pdf https://ifpmag.mdmpublishing.com/
fire-safety-in-wind-turbines-there-is-more-to-know/
About the Author
Naveen Vegi is a WPI Fire Protection Engineering Alumni,
with experience in special hazards and marine fire protection.
Fireaway Inc.
5852 Baker Road
Minnetonka, MN 55345
United States
www.statx.com
