How Wind Farms Cause Prairie Fires

Yesterday I posted an article about an Oregon solar farm that had set fire to the prairie grass around it.

Yes, it seems solar farms can do that.

It's not something states like Nebraska, Kansas, the Dakotas, and Wyoming want to hear.

We have our dry seasons out west and these same states are building massive solar farms right in the middle of all of that grass.

What about wind farms? Can they start fires?

Indeed they do.

A 2020 article in Wind Power Engineering Magazine also estimates that 1 in 2,000 wind turbines catch fire each year.

Believe it or not, it is actually suggested that wind turbines NOT be located in dry, grassy places that have a lot of wind. -- That sounds a lot like WYOMING!

Wind turbines can catch fire for a number of reasons, including:

• Lightning strikes are the most common cause of wind turbine fires
• Electrical issues such as short circuits, ground faults, and electrical arcs
• Mechanical issues such as gear wear, bearing overheating, and generator malfunction

• Human error such as improper maintenance or operations
• Fire debris from forest or bushfires
• Manufacturing or construction defects such as turbines not suited for local conditions

Wind turbines are at high risk of fire because they contain flammable materials like hydraulic oil, plastics, and insulation, which are located near electrical components.

If an ignition source, like an electrical arc, is introduced, a fire can quickly spread.

Nobody had really been worried about wind and solar farms causing fires in open prairie states until the push in recent years to build so many of them.

Many more wind and solar farms are on the way, increasing the risk of fires.