The early adoption of fire suppression technology is key to addressing public opposition to wind farms, while also being more cost-effective than retrofitting
The Firetrace International report, ‘Ahead of the Game: Benefits of early installation of fire suppression systems in wind turbines’, said that wind farm permit hearings may encounter less local opposition if communities know that the project developer has taken all possible steps to guarantee the safety of the public by installing fire suppression systems at the outset of projects [1].
Fears alleviated by fire suppression systems
The report said wind asset owners and developers face the challenge of having to win the support of local communities when seeking permission for wind projects and that in this context, the “incorporation of fire suppression systems, and the publicizing of the fact, will go a long way to alleviating the fears and concerns of local people”.
The report cited one study – analyzing 53 US utility-scale wind, solar, and geothermal energy projects that were delayed or blocked between 2008 and 2021 – which concluded that “local residents and other stakeholders often oppose renewable energy projects if public health and safety risks do not appear to be taken seriously” [2]. It added that “conflicts and concerns regarding the potential health impacts of renewable energy projects occurred in 26 per cent of our cases and affected 16 per cent of the total generating capacity at risk in our dataset”.
Avoid mistakes: A small investment now can prevent major losses
Meanwhile, the report also warned that some wind asset owners and operators – especially when seeking financial backing for projects – often make the mistake of deciding to not install fire suppression systems in order to keep budgets under control and maximize the chances of getting projects up and running. Instead, consideration should be given to the fact that a relatively small investment in fire suppression technology at the outset could prevent major losses further down the line.
To give an indication of costs, the report said that typically it takes two to three days to retrofit a fire suppression system to a wind turbine, resulting in two to three days of downtime. In this scenario, the cost of downtime ranges from $4,380 if a single turbine experiences two days of downtime, to $6,570 in the event that the turbine is out of action for three days. Based on these calculations, if a wind asset operator retrofits fire suppression systems to a wind farm consisting of 50 turbines, the combined cost of downtime would range from $219,000 to nearly $329,000. In addition, potential losses of up to $11 million per turbine could be incurred if a fire incident takes place before installation, the report said.
Increased scrutiny of project safety
The report also said that another factor driving wind asset owners to pre-install fire suppression technology is that, with more renewables projects coming online – particularly in the US due to tax incentives provided under the Inflation Reduction Act – there is a much higher level of scrutiny regarding project safety. The increased scrutiny is partly due to a surge in hybrid, or co-located, project applications – for example, wind projects that incorporate battery energy storage technology. This is because co-located assets, particularly projects including energy storage, can often face a heightened risk of fire. Additionally, concerns have been raised that, with regard to hybrid projects, asset owners are not adequately addressing the fire risk associated with each different asset [3].
Failing to pre-install fire suppression systems on wind turbines means wind energy companies, and the wind sector as a whole, potentially face significant reputational risk. The report said there had been instances where asset owners/operators have neglected to install fire suppression systems on their wind turbines and subsequently fires have broken out. All companies involved have been subject to intense media criticism, resulting in significant damage to brand and market reputation and hindering the development of future projects.