Wind turbines and fire
The Advocate | Sept. 23, 2014 | www.hepburnadvocate.com.au
Anyone interested in the issue of wind turbines being put up in areas of high fire danger should have a look at a new report from the United Kingdom.
Researchers from Imperial College, London, the University of Edinburgh and SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden did a global assessment of the world’s wind farms and found that fire was the second leading cause of accidents in wind farms after blade failure.
They estimated that around 117 separate fires are breaking out in turbines annually.
Wind turbines catch fire because highly flammable materials such as hydraulic oil and plastics are close to machinery and electrical wires.
This should give people pause when looking at putting up wind turbines in areas of high fire danger such as the Macedon Ranges.
RAY SOLOMON
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/09/23/wind-turbines-and-fire/