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February 1, 2021
2020 was a year full of surprises and losses, and it left us with a final destructive parting gift — three turbine fires that made the news within a span of just 11 days. One of the fires occurred on Christmas Day and caused more than a few people to respond to the fire instead of spending the holiday with their family.
January 20, 2021
Fires in wind turbines have been an expensive issue for years and are an important risk to mitigate. We sat down with Jatin Sharma, the Managing Partner of NARDAC and a leading voice in the renewable energy space, to discuss the current and future state of wind turbine insurance. Learn what wind energy insurance in 2021 will look like from Jatin’s perspective.
January 19, 2021
There are a lot of things to consider when purchasing and installing wind turbines for your wind farm. One of the packages you may have seen is the ability to add fire detection and suppression to your turbines. We will review the facts to assist you in making an informed decision about active fire suppression and help you gain an understanding if it provides a return on investment when you opt-in.
December 21, 2020
No wind farm owner or operator wants to deal with the headache of a wind turbine fire. However, wind turbine fires do occur and can be disastrous. In an unprotected wind turbine, you are likely to have a total loss, and when the fire occurs, you must have a plan in place for how to extinguish the fire and then replace the turbine.
November 17, 2020
The fire suppression agent, Halon is still in use today; however, there is no new production of Halons. While Halon is considered a clean agent by The National Fire Protection Association because it’s electrically non-conducting and does not leave a residue, Halon has an extremely high potential for ozone depletion and contributes to global warming potential. On January 1, 1994, Halon production ceases in compliance with the Montreal Protocol and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The use of Halons has been reducing over the years, but there is still demand for it for specific applications.
October 23, 2020
No operator wants to deal with the consequences of a wind turbine fire. But the fact remains that fire mitigation costs money. Operators must decide whether it’s worth investing in fire safety products, taking into consideration their likelihood of experiencing a fire.
October 19, 2020
The wind industry has experienced extensive growth since an initial boom in the mid-1990s. Wind power is poised to become a prominent part of the energy supply for global demand. However, as wind turbines get bigger and more expensive, fire risk is becoming a greater concern for the industry.
June 10, 2020
Operations and maintenance are critical elements and a significant amount of the costs associated with a wind farm. Having a well-planned maintenance program will ensure wind turbines are running efficiently and at their highest capacity. Overall general maintenance, up-tower repairs, and down-tower remanufacturing processes help to reduce the total cost of energy production and extend the life expectancy of a wind turbine.
May 11, 2020
The most common types of wind turbine failure are turbine blades, generators, and gearboxes. Regular maintenance and inspections of wind turbines create challenges due to the remote locations of wind farms and the size and height of the turbines. During regularly scheduled maintenance, it can be difficult to access the massive rotor blades and evaluate the blade materials and the complex surface areas. New technologies like the use of drones for blade inspections are being used, which aids in the inspection process. However, without proper monitoring and maintenance, it can lead to component failure.
April 28, 2020
Fire in wind turbines is the second most common type of accident reported after blade failure. While certain types of wind turbines have a higher occurrence rate of fire, all wind turbines have fire risk factors. Within the nacelle, highly flammable materials including, hydraulic oil and plastics, are located near electrical wiring and equipment. A fire can quickly start and spread if there is an ignition source like an electrical arc or a fault within the transformer.
April 3, 2020
Wind turbines stand over 300 ft tall with each blade measuring over 100 ft long with blade speeds of up to 180 mph. Fire protection for these giant structures poses a variety of unique risks. Because there is no formal reporting process of reporting and recording fire incidents in wind turbines, it’s hard to get an accurate count. However, in a 2015 report, Towering Inferno, completed by GCube, a clean energy insurance provider, cited 50 wind turbine fire incidents.
July 17, 2019
Businesses looking to safeguard critical equipment and assets from fire need to understand the basics of a fire suppression system. Automatic fire suppression systems can detect and suppress fires in as little as 10 seconds. Watch the slow-motion video of a system detecting and suppressing a fire that ignited in an electrical server rack.