The Berrybank wind project has been temporarily shut down following the collapse of a turbine following severe storms on Monday night that included high wind speeds and widespread lightening. The current working theory is that the tower was struck by lightning, an occurrence expected to become more common with the acceleration of climate change and ever taller turbines.
The hub, nacelle and blades of the turbine at the facility west of Geelong fell at around 2:00 am, with Vestas making the decision to shut down the whole wind farm later that morning while investigations are undertaken. There were no employees or other people in the area at the time of the incident.
The Berrybank wind farm complex totals 69 Vestas wind turbines, with the whole site providing 290 megawatts. The fallen tower was part of the first stage of the wind farm, beginning operation in 2021.
WorkSafe and Energy Safe Victoria are working with the company, and an incident management team will be undertaking a detailed investigation to determine the root cause.
Read more: Renew Economy - Berrybank lightning strike could be new normal for wind farms