Turbine catches fire at one of UK’s oldest offshore wind farms

A single 2MW wind turbine has been damaged in a fire at the Scroby Sands Wind Farm in the North Sea, one of the oldest offshore projects in the UK.

The turbine caught fire at around 10:50am on Tuesday, according to HM Coastguard, who also confirmed that “all personnel working at the site have been evacuated by the operating company and are accounted for.”

The 60MW Scroby Sands Wind Farm, commissioned nearly 20 years ago on a prehistoric sandbank in the North Sea, features 30 2MW turbines 2.5km off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England.

The wind farm is owned by German wind energy company RWE Offshore Wind, who quickly issued a statement to the media:

“An incident occurred which led to a fire in the turbine nacelle – the enclosure at the top of the tower which houses the generating components,” said a spokesperson for RWE.

“Emergency services were contacted immediately and the Coastguard made aware. They are monitoring the area and advising on a potential 500 metre restriction zone being enforced around the affected turbine.

“We would ask people to keep away from the area as assessments are ongoing.”

Within around five hours, according to media reports, the turbine self-extinguished. RWE hope to have the rest of the wind farm back in operation some time today, Wednesday.