Victoria wind farm shut down after turbine collapse, likely due to massive lightning strike

The Berrybank wind project in Victoria has been shut down after an incident including the apparent collapse of one of its turbines after severe storms, when strong winds and lightning blew through the region on Monday night.

Photos published on the local Lismore and District Rural Fire Brigade page appeared to show the hub, nacelle and blades of a turbine at the facility, west of Geelong, lying on the ground.

“Expensive damage from last night’s storm at Berrybank wind farm!” the fire brigade noted on its Facebook page.

The incident occurred at around 2am in the morning on Tuesday and the whole wind farm was shut down later in the morning.

Vestas, which made the turbines, is looking at the possibility of a major lighting strike. Suggestions on mainstream media that the turbine had been vulnerable and weakened because it was not operating have been dismissed.

• “There were no reported people near the wind turbine at the time of the incident and no reported injuries,”a Vestas spokesperson said in an email sent to Renew Economy. They said WorkSafe Victoria has been notified and a full investigation is underway into the cause.

“As a precaution, the project’s remaining wind turbines have been temporarily paused and the site is safely secured.

• “Vestas and Global Power Generation’s primary focus is the safety and well-being of all site personnel, as well as ensuring that the overall safety of the site is maintained.“

The Berrybank wind farm features a total of 69 Vestas V136-4.2MW wind turbines, built over two stages and amounting to a total of 290 megawatts. The turbine blades have a tip height of 186 metres.

The incident occurred at the Berrybank 1 component that was brought into operation in 2021. The second stage started production in 2023. The facility is owned by Global Power Generation, part of the Spanish-based Naturgy energy group.

Last November, in the same region of Victoria, a 36-year-old worker was killed when he was crushed by a 22-tonne blade that had been laid on a stand.

The incident at the Golden Plains wind project, which will be the biggest in Australia when complete, involved a Vestas V162 turbine that was under construction at the site. The incident caused a temporary stop to construction at several projects in Australia.

In September, small blade parts fell from turbines at the 756 megawatt (MW) stage one ‘East’ section of the project.

In Canada late last year, operations at a wind project in Alberta were halted after the nacelle of a 4.5MW Vestas machine crashed to the ground, according to reports. The nacelle and rotor fell to the ground on 8 November while the V150-4.5MW wind turbine was being installed at the Halkirk 2 wind farm.

Late last year, a turbine blade broke at the 923 megawatt (MW) MacIntyre wind project in south-western Queensland. It uses Nordex turbines.