General News
8 June, 2025
Seven units called to Bulgana turbine fire
Crews from Stawell, Great Western, and Ararat Brigades teamed up on Thursday night, May 29, to attend a fire at the Bulgana Wind farm.
The wind farm fire began at about 9:30 pm, and seven CFA units from Ararat, Stawell, and Great Western fire brigades attended the scene.
CFA District 16 Commander Ben Townsend said the fire was monitored by the company, and crews were called back when it reignited at about 3.20am.
“CFA crews that attended, did what they could to create safety zones and remained clear of the structure,” Mr Townsend said.
“Crews were initially called out because the main body of the wind turbine was on fire. They contacted the operator of the turbines and shut them down.
“Crews left the scene in the hands of the owners to monitor, and just after 3am they got called back because a blade had caught fire, dislodged and fell to the ground.”
The scene will be investigated.
The Bulgana Green Power Hub is a combined 194MW wind farm and 20 MW battery storage facility.
It supplies around 750,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of clean, renewable electricity into the national electricity system each year.
Wind turbines are tall structures that can capture stronger winds at higher altitudes. The Bulgana turbine towers are 114m tall.
Battery storagae allows wind energy to be stored and to provide it to the grid when it is needed.
Documentation shows that when a wind turbine catches on fire, it is no match for conventional firefighting methods.
Newer wind turbines stand, on average, nearly 500 feet from the base to the tip.
The height and location of wind turbines create a unique set of fire safety challenges.
