Wind turbine fires a concern for Downs residents petitioning the state 

An anti–wind-farm petitioner has raised concerns about the Rural Fire Service’s ability to fight wind turbine fires on the Western Downs in the same week that Victorian crews battled a blaze at a renewable energy park.

More than 750 Western Downs residents signed a petition tabled in state Parliament on May 20 asking it not to proceed with the Marmadua energy park and Tara wind farm development due to concerns about the increased risk of bushfires, among other factors.

Cubico Sustainable Investments planned to start construction on up to 110 turbines with 700 megawatts of capacity at the Marmadua energy park, about 20 kilometres east of Tara, in 2027, putting its scale in the mid-range of wind farms being built in Australia.

The Deputy Premier is mulling whether to call in the Marmadua energy park’s development application for assessment by the state at the time of writing, while the Tara wind farm proponent has not yet lodged a development application.

It comes as Victorian Country Fire Authority crews were left fighting a blaze that burnt one of the blades off a wind turbine in the Great Western region on May 28, about a year after crews were called out to a wind turbine fire near Portland, Victoria.

The most recent wind turbine fire reported widely in Queensland at the time of writing happened at the Ravenshoe windy hill site in 2018.

The principal petitioner against wind farms around Tara, Jasmine Allen, was a landholder with 15 hectares at Weranga, about 10 kilometres north of the project site at Marmadua. Ms Allen said she was concerned the RFS was not tasked or equipped to extinguish large-scale mechanical fires.

“My husband and I volunteered to help fight three bushfires in our local area, and we are applying formally to become members of the RFS,” Ms Allen said. “I started the petition after a friend of mine mentioned that Cubico did a letter drop regarding the proposal, and I fell outside the zone by a few hundred metres. We sat outside the local Foodworks to get signatures on the petition and tell people about our concerns, … such as property values dropping, the risk of bush fires, impacts on animal habitats and local roads.”

A Queensland Fire Department spokesperson said RFS volunteers could be tasked to wind farm fires, but only in a support capacity. “If attending such incidents, RFS Queensland volunteer members could undertake activities such as extinguishing fire that spreads to vegetation, assistance with water relay and traffic control,” the spokesperson said. “Queensland Fire and Rescue is the lead agency for all structural fires, including fires involving wind turbines. QFR firefighters are highly trained and equipped to respond to these incidents, which can involve electrical and mechanical equipment.”

The closest QFR fire station to the proposed wind farm was at Dalby, according to the QFD’s website, about an hour’s drive from Marmadua. A Cubico spokesperson said it would continue to work with relevant authorities and experts to determine appropriate fire mitigation and management measures for the site.

“Cubico understands the concerns residents near our projects have regarding the risk of bush and grass fires, particularly as that risk continues to increase due to climate change,” the spokesperson said. “At each of our projects, the Cubico team work closely with fire authorities, planners, and independent experts to evaluate vegetation types, fire history, topography, and site access to determine fire management plans. Controls may include measures such as internal fire detection and suppression within the turbines, installation of water tanks and onsite fire-fighting equipment, training of onsite staff to Rural Fire Service level and improvements to site access roads for emergency vehicles.”

A Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning spokesperson said the deputy premier would make a final decision on whether to call in and assess the application for the Marmadua energy park by mid-June.

“A proposed call-in notice was issued in March 2025 and an opportunity was provided for the community, applicant, and local government to make submissions on whether the application should be called in by the Deputy Premier in his role as the planning minister,” the spokesperson said. “For the Tara Wind Farm, the development application is yet to be lodged, but once submitted, it will undergo a rigorous assessment process, including consideration of social and community impacts and public notification.”

In May, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleije used his ministerial powers to cancel the Moonlight Range wind farm project in central Queensland and introduced new laws to parliament to increase the community benefits delivered by renewable energy projects.