Fire risk from wind turbines: danger to nature or exaggerated fears?

On New Year's Day 2025, a fire in Gildehaus, which was caused by a technical defect, occurred in the Grafschaft Bentheim district. The fire brigade was unable to extinguish the fire and had the system burned down in a controlled manner. The wind turbine was in the open field and therefore did not pose any danger for humans or animals.

The emergence of a new wind farm nearby, partly in the forest, has called both supporters and critics on the scene. Conservationists, including the Nabu Emsland/Grafschaft Bentheim, warn of the risk of fire through sparks and falling parts. In particular, they fear that wind turbines could catch fire in dry summers, which is also exacerbated by the necessary felling of trees for the construction of the wind turbines.

fire risk in wind turbines

Bernhard Weinberg, Managing Director of the Grafschaffer Naturstrom, rates the risk of fire as statistically very low. According to the information, around five to ten wind turbines burn in Germany every year, with an inventory of around 30,000 systems. So far, wind turbines in the forest have been the exception in Lower Saxony, but since the approval by the previous state government has been available for corresponding projects in 2022.

In order to counteract the fire, the company plans preventive measures, including sensors for temperature monitoring and a extinguishing system with nitrogen. Environmental and Energy Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) supports the opportunity to build wind turbines in forests. The municipalities are responsible for the decision as to whether forests are shown for wind power, whereby certain areas such as nature conservation forests are excluded from the designation.

In addition, according to NABU, the equipment with extinguishing systems on wind turbines is not sufficient to adequately minimize the risk. The organization is in favor of keeping wind turbines away from forests. The fire in Gildehaus is not the first incident of this kind. As Agrarheute.com reports, fires in wind turbines are rare, but are often characterized by their spectacular nature. However, there is no official statistics above such fires.

A central problem with fires is that the fire brigade is often powerless because the heights of wind turbines reach up to 250 meters, and usual fire brigade managers cannot reach them. The generator gondola, which contains numerous electrical parts as well as oils and fats, often burns. Firefighters then often only have to be secured the terrain and let the fire burn out in a controlled manner. An example of this is a great fire in Clausnitz, Saxony, in which the fire brigade caused the facilities to be torn down after the fire of the wind turbine.