5 January 2023

Fiery spectacle as wind turbine ignites near Goulburn

| Ian Bushnell
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wind turbine fire

The wind turbine fire could be seen from the Hume Highway and surrounding countryside. Photo: NSW RFS.

A spectacular fire at the top of a wind turbine near Goulburn that could be seen for kilometres around has burnt itself out, but not before generating multiple calls to the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Six crews responded just after 6 am this morning (5 January) to the turbine fire off the Hume Highway at the wind farm on Lerida Road at Breadalbane, southwest of Goulburn.

But the blaze on the 90-metre-high turbine mast was well out of reach and crews could only keep a watching brief to ensure there were no spot fires in the surrounding grassland.

READ ALSO UPDATED: Cleanup continues in Canberra Centre after flash flooding closes shops

NSW RFS spokesperson Greg Allan said there had not been any threat to neighbouring properties and the fire self-extinguished just after 10 am and the scene was handed back to the wind farm contractor, which had shut down the turbine.

“I believe it’s standard practice for the industry to let them burn out,” he said. “It’s the only thing they can do.”

Mr Allan said it was not the standard type of fire the RFS attended.

“It certainly is unique for our crew, which usually deal with bush and, particularly this year, grass fires,” he said.

The cause of the fire was not known and Mr Allan could not say if a weather event such as a lightning strike from recent storms had sparked the blaze.

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Haha, when this article was posted, I was waiting for the usual suspects to lose their minds about it. Click bait successful.

There’s never been a fire at a fossil fuel power station 😂

Capital Retro9:16 am 06 Jan 23

Fires burn 24/7 at coal fired power stations. They are contained in furnaces in buildings with acres of paved and cleared space around them. Plenty of water available and hydrants already in place if the combustion spreads to the infrastructure. They even have fire fighting strategies,

When a part-time wind turbine generator catches fire there is nothing that can be done. The RFS doesn’t have a plan to fight a fire 200 feet above the ground.

https://amp.abc.net.au/article/100186330

LOL.

Can’t believe the catastrophic damage caused by this wind turbine fire, the sky must be falling in, hahaha.

I gather you have forgotten the Hazelwood open-cut Mine fire

Spiral,
That doesn’t come up with selective googling and can’t be recalled with selective memory, haha.

Capital Retro12:58 pm 06 Jan 23

We are talking about fires, not explosions. What’s your point?

Capital Retro4:19 pm 06 Jan 23

Here’s some selective googling for you to digest, chewy:

“The owners of a wind farm near Canberra are being sued for sparking a catastrophic bushfire in January, in what is believed to be the first class action of its type in Australia. Victorian firm Maddens Lawyers filed the class action against Infigen Energy Ltd in the NSW Supreme Court after a crow electrocuted by a transmission line carrying power from the company’s Woodlawn wind farm sparked the fire, which burned 3400 hectares and caused up to $20 million damage.”

Bahahaha, you can’t make up this level of ridiculousness.

The bird flew in to a high voltage power line, you know that fossil fuel generators also use power lines right?

What do you think started the Black Saturday bushfires?

Jesus wept, how illogical can one person’s hatred of renewable energy generation get. It’s just very, very, weird.

Capital Retro6:35 pm 07 Jan 23

Most of the fires in the wind turbines happens when the oil in the planetary gearbox overheats and ignites. I said oil, chewy. That’s a fossil-petroleum product without which your beloved bird blenders cannot function.

The irony is delicious.

Where’s the irony?

That fossil fuel is the cause of fires in renewables as well?

The stupidity of your point is seemingly thinking that I hate fossil fuels in the way you hate renewables.

Not being a fool, I can recognise that fossil fuels continue to have their place, oil and petroleum products have many uses that will continue.

But the simple fact remains, as a fuel source for electricity generation, they are now more expensive than renewables.

Aparently you like paying more for your electricity. As I said, very, very, weird.

Didn’t you know that the Callide plant explosion was caused by renewables 😉

So if the Fire Service cannot put it out and sparks get airborne and start a major fire, will there be an investigation, or is that only reserved for Defence Force helicopters?

Capital Retro6:16 pm 05 Jan 23

Would have been a different outcome if it was 35 degrees and a hot NW wind was blowing.

That would have been unprecedented.

Looks like it’s contributed more to the global warming myth than it’s offset it. They told us it couldn’t happen.

Who said fires would stop happening? Did someone suggest that reducing emissions would remove all oxygen from our atmosphere? If you can provide a link that would be great.

Unlike the green electic buses, no one was riding this one.

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