Wind Energy

A Vestas V112-3.0 MW turbine caught fire at the Gross Eilstorf wind farm in Lower Saxony, Germany

As of 15:00 CET, the fire is burning out under controlled conditions, as safe access to the turbine is impossible. Local firefighters and a fire inspector are on the scene, along with police and Vestas experts. The wind turbine has been disconnected from the grid.

Three other nearby V112 wind turbines have been shut down as well for electrical safety reasons. There is, however, no risk for the other 13 V112 wind turbines at Gross Eilstorf that are still up and running.

It is not clear at this point why the fire started. A full investigation will be launched at the earliest possible opportunity, with initial assessments scheduled for tomorrow. An independent third party will assist in the investigation with Vestas and the customer.

The V112 is a new turbine model for Vestas and we have full confidence in its quality and performance. For safety reasons, we immediately reviewed our entire V112 fleet through our Global Vestas Performance and Diagnostics Center – which monitors the performance of over 20,000 wind turbines around the world – and the fleet is operating normally.

It is important to note that Vestas has over 46,000 turbines operating, and these types of accidents are very rare. Once we have completed the root cause investigation, we will make the results known.

www.vestas.com