April 13, 2012
Germany

Vestas issues statement on German turbine fire

By Peter Gardett, Aol Energy, energy.aol.com 12 April 2012

The Danish wind giant is dealing with fallout from a fire on one of its turbine models. A number of operating turbines were paused following the fire, and the company responded to media questions this week with the following statement:

“Vestas’ investigation into the cause of the V112-3.0 MW turbine fire in Germany on March 30 continues. This investigation involves Vestas experts and two external experts inspecting the nacelle and modeling possible root causes. On-site, initial close inspections of the burnt turbine from height – using a crane and also using a drone aircraft with a camera – has assisted in the investigation.

“With weather-related delays, Vestas continues the operation to take down the burnt turbine, which will lead to a closer on-the-ground inspection within days. Planning is underway to replace the burnt turbine, which will commence next week.

“As a part of the investigation, and in close communication with relevant customers, we have paused other V112 turbines with a similar production configuration to the turbine that caught fire.

“We are confident that we are getting closer to the root cause of the fire and we are now returning the paused turbines back to normal operation one by one after having completed a thorough inspection and implemented upgrades, including new software to mitigate the issues found as part of the root cause investigation. We expect that all of the paused turbines will be returned to normal operation by late April.

“Vestas continues to keep affected customers informed.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/13/vestas-issues-statement-on-german-turbine-fire/