Video: UK Offshore Wind Turbine Catches Fire

In a spectacular flame out, one of the turbines in a nearshore wind farm caught fire this morning spreading smoke along the English coastline. The operator of the wind farm, Germany’s RWE, reports no one was injured but operations have been temporarily suspended at the Scroby Sands Wind Farm. The company hopes to have the other turbines back online tomorrow.

HM Coast Guard reports it was notified of the fire at 10:50 am local time as residents on the coast watched and filmed the fire at the nearshore location. The Coast Guard said there was an evacuation of personnel in the wind farm as a precaution but that no one was working on the particular tower when the fire began. 

 

 

 

RWE reports the fire quickly burnt itself out. While extremely rare, it is not the first report of a wind turbine catching fire. The company said the fire appears to have originated in the turbine nacelle with flames as well as a large plume of black smoke. Images show at least one of the blades also on fire.

Scroby Sands which has been in operation since March 2004 is one of the oldest wind farms in the UK. It is located approximately 1.5 miles off the coast of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk on the east coast of the UK in the North Sea. The turbines are each 2 MW and manufactured by Vestas and stand approximately 223 feet. Placed close to shore, the wind farm is in shallow waters ranging between 16 and 33 feet in depth. The overall wind farm is rated for 60 MW.

RWE is asking people to stay away from the site while an investigation is ongoing into the cause of the fire.