Lack of clarity over liability increases turbine fire risk renews.biz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from renews.biz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Angela Krcmar explains why wind farm owners and operators must go beyond recommendations to manage fire risk
The wind industry has seen phenomenal growth over the past decade. With the current US government having campaigned to support this sector’s growth to help decarbonise its national energy supply, there is good reason for optimism among wind farm owners and operators.
However, as renewables comes onto the federal agenda, windpower has to be prepared for additional scrutiny and potential regulations around key risks in line with other energy sectors.
Fire is a particularly high-visibility problem for the industry – and can provide fuel for anti-wind campaigning and distrust among local stakeholders. To make the most of the current support for wind energy, project owners need to ensure that fire risk is fully managed even beyond what is currently regulated.
Firetrace Announces Installation of Fire Suppression System for Wind Turbines powermag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from powermag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The company’s fire suppression systems have been installed in turbines across four states.
The order follows a recent incident where Firetrace’s system prevented a minor component fire from spreading and “completely destroying” a turbine, the company said.
In the incident, a fire sparked inside the nacelle due to mechanical error in the turbine that could have spread and destroyed the unit within 60 seconds, Firetrace said.
Firetrace said months before the turbine owner opted for fire suppression technology, in addition to detection, which was able to put out a fire.
“Without this technology in place, this single fire could have cost $7-8m and caused months, potentially over a year, of lost revenue”, said Firetrace.