Fire - a past and current enemy
Historically many a windmill or watermill was destroyed by fire. Their wooden construction and the presence of potentially
explosive dust from the milling operations was a major contributer, and the possibility of sparks if the grain ran out and
the millstones touched added to the internal hazards. In addition, by their nature, windmills stood tall, in prominent
locations, so lightning strikes were a possibility.
The Sept/Oct 2004 issue of
Renewable Energy World brings the
story right up to date with an article called "Wind and fire: Reducing the risk of fire damage in wind turbines". Once again the
major problems are lightning strikes, coupled with the potential sparking or overheating that may occur finding a ready fuel in the
necessary oil that lubricates the systems. It does point out that fire damage to wind turbines is comparatively rare, but given the
height of the towers and presence of whiring blades once fire takes hold there is little chance of fighting it, often leading to total
destruction of the turbine. Fire damage is reported to account for between 9% and 20% of wind power insurance claims.
Tags: [
#fire]
Item: #379,
Posted: 30/9/04.
