Emergency services attended the Golden Plains Windfarm project at Rokewood, west of Geelong, early on Monday morning after a worker was crushed under a blade. First responders attempted to revive the man, but he was declared deceased at the scene.
The site has been under construction since mid-2023 and is set to become the largest windfarm in the southern hemisphere, providing approximately 9% of the state’s energy needs. The farm is comprised of electrical infrastructure and 122 turbines with a total output of 756MW at the East Site and 93 turbines with a total output of 574KW at the West Site, with planning approval for a further 13 turbines.
The incident involved a turbine blade being stored on the ground which was being prepared for installation when it was dislodged from a supporting platform and struck a 36 year old man. Danny Nielsen, Country Head for Vestas Australia and New Zealand said, “the site has been closed and we are working closely with the authorities, including the Police and WorkSafe Victoria”.
Three unions – the AWU, CFMEU and ETU– had all warned Vestas of safety concerns in the weeks leading up Monday’s incident, AWU state secretary Ronnie Hayden said.
“This devastating loss could have been prevented,” Hayden said. “Just two weeks ago, union delegates from three different unions met with Vestas management to raise serious safety concerns, telling them it was only dumb luck that nobody had been killed on site yet.”
“We fought hard for industrial manslaughter laws, but they’re gathering dust while bodies pile up. This isn’t just negligence anymore – it’s criminal, and it’s time we started treating it that way.”
The union says project delays have put rising pressure on workers at Golden Plains and accuses Vestas of creating “a concerning pattern” of inadequate supervision with non-unionised subcontractors leading to gaps in safety protocols.
“This is not just another statistic, this is a worker who went to work and never came home,” Hayden said. “We need more than just investigations and reports, we need immediate action on site safety and stronger enforcement of regulations.”
Victoria Police attended and WorkSafe Victoria is investigating.
Read more - Worker crushed in fatal incident at wind farm in Rokewood - ABC News
Man dies after being crushed by turbine blade | RenewEconomy
