Given the absence of industry and government data on wind turbine incidents, Scotland Against Spin (SAS) has done yeoman’s work in filling the void. SAS gathers information from press reports and official releases. A PDF of the latest SAS update summary (through 2024) is attached. You can view their complete incident compilation (324 pages) here. Kudos to SAS for their diligence.
Be sure to see the introductory text at the top of the attached table. Some key points:
- The table includes all documented cases of wind turbine incidents which could be found and confirmed through press reports or official information releases.
- SAS believes that this compendium of accident information may be the most comprehensive available anywhere.
- SAS believes their table is only the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of numbers of accidents and their frequency:
- On 11 March 2011 the Daily Telegraph reported that RenewableUK confirmed that there had been 1500 wind turbine incidents in the UK alone in the previous 5 years.
- In July 2019 EnergyVoice and the Press and Journal reported a total of 81 cases where workers had been injured on the UK’s windfarms since 2014. SAS data includes only 15 of these (<19%).
- In February 2021, the industry publication Wind Power Engineering and Development admitted to 865 offshore accidents during 2019. SAS data include only 4 of these (<0.5%).
- SAS includes other examples supporting their “tip of the iceberg” claim.
Although SAS is committed to reforming the Scottish government’s wind energy policy, their incident data summaries are credible. It’s disappointing that the wind industry is unwilling to publish comprehensive incident data that would help protect lives and the environment, and improve the performance of all participants.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 