RENEWABLE energy experts dismissed yesterday an incident where a wind turbine caught fire in gale-force winds as a “freak” occurrence.
The 330ft turbine, at Ardrossan Windfarm, near the A78 in Ayrshire, was destroyed after it exploded into flames which could be seen “far and wide”.
Charles Anglin, of RenewableUK, the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries, stressed wind turbines were subjected regularly to “some pretty tough conditions” without problem.
He said: “There’s some pretty freak weather going on and any piece of large power-generating equipment can be subject to freak accidents or mechanical faults.
“But there’s an excellent health and safety record, and it was only a small fire in a field that was put out before the fire brigade got there, and no one was hurt.
“In stressful situations any power equipment may develop faults, and that’s true of gas, nuclear, oil, and is also true of wind.”
Mr Anglin said the average UK wind speed was five to seven metres per second, with the cut-off point at which the wind turbines are designed to automatically shut down being 25 metres per second.
However, he said winds in the area had reached up to 75 metres per second on Thursday.
Sir Bernard Ingham, secretary of the pressure group Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE), questioned the point of windfarms in the light of the incident.
He said: “They are no good when the wind doesn’t blow and they are no good when the wind does blow.
“What on earth is the point of them?”