Wind turbine fires are ten times more common than the wind industry and its parasites claim (see our post here and check out this website: http://turbinesonfire.org).

Americans have had more than their fair share of fiery ‘green’ energy excitement – see our posts here, here and here.

The wind industry has been forced to concede that at least 4 bushfires were started by wind turbines in Australia, so far:

• Ten Mile Lagoon in Western Australia in the mid-1990s;
• Lake Bonney, Millicent (SA) in January 2006 (see the photo above);
• Cathedral Rocks Wind Farm, Port Lincoln (SA) in February 2009 (see this post); and
• Starfish Hill (SA) in November 2010 (see this link for more detail).

In Australia, plenty of other turbines have self-immolated, like this one at Windy Hill, near Ravenshoe west of Cairns in Far North Queensland:

However, fortunately for the communities in which these things get speared, not all of them lead to life and property-threatening bushfires.

Such as this recent event at Gunning, near Goulburn in New South Wales.

Fiery spectacle as wind turbine ignites near Goulburn
Riotact
Ian Bushnell
5 January 2023

A spectacular fire at the top of a wind turbine near Goulburn that could be seen for kilometres around has burnt itself out, but not before generating multiple calls to the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Six crews responded just after 6 am this morning (5 January) to the turbine fire off the Hume Highway at the wind farm on Lerida Road at Breadalbane, southwest of Goulburn.

But the blaze on the 90-metre-high turbine mast was well out of reach and crews could only keep a watching brief to ensure there were no spot fires in the surrounding grassland.

NSW RFS spokesperson Greg Allan said there had not been any threat to neighbouring properties and the fire self-extinguished just after 10 am and the scene was handed back to the wind farm contractor, which had shut down the turbine.

“I believe it’s standard practice for the industry to let them burn out,” he said. “It’s the only thing they can do.”

Mr Allan said it was not the standard type of fire the RFS attended.

“It certainly is unique for our crew, which usually deal with bush and, particularly this year, grass fires,” he said.

The cause of the fire was not known and Mr Allan could not say if a weather event such as a lightning strike from recent storms had sparked the blaze.
Riotact

When and wherever these things explode into balls of flame and toxic smoke they send a shower of molten metal and over 1,000 litres of flaming gear oil, hydraulic fluid (see our post here) and burning plastic composites earthwards.

That the pyrotechnics referred to above did not result in a runaway bushfire was more luck than good management. STT’s NSW operatives – who were on the scene and took the video below – reported that the conditions were cool with light rain, rather than 42°C with a howling northerly; which is part and parcel of Australia’s summer weather, and the type that has rural folk on high alert and on a constant lookout for smoke and the terror that follows.

So, if you’re one of the unfortunates with these things speared into your backyard, STT suggests you check your insurance policy is up-to-date (and your property is fully covered for damage caused by fire); your fire-fighting equipment is primed up and ready to go; and, if that fails, you’ve got a prearranged escape route to safety.

Welcome to your wind-powered future!

Essay by Eric Worrall

Massive protests have erupted in the village of Luetzerath, as German authorities advance plans to demolish the village to make way for more coal mining.

Police and climate activists clash outside Germany’s Luetzerath village as Garzweiler mine prepares for expansion

Posted Tue 3 Jan 2023 at 5:07pm

Scuffles have broken out outside a village in western Germany set to be razed to allow the expansion of a coal mine, a plan drawing resistance from climate activists.

Key points:

• Activists in Luetzerath were living in houses abandoned by former residents
• Officials have called for a nonviolent end to their occupation
• Police have been ordered to clear the village from January 10

Activists threw fireworks, bottles and stones at police outside the village of Luetzerath before the situation calmed down and officers pulled back, German news agency dpa reported.

Protesters had previously set up a burning barricade, and one glued his hand to the access road.

The village is to be demolished to expand the Garzweiler lignite mine, despite protests from environmentalists who fear millions more tonnes of heat-trapping carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere.

…

…

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-03/germany-luetzerath-garzweiler-mine-protest/101824846

What can I say – nothing says green energy success, like sending in the riot police to force access for expansion of a coal mine.

Sunday Open Thread