The Challenges

• Combustible materials and ignition sources: The high density of technical equipment and combustible materials, including the nacelle, increased the potential risk of fire ignition.
• Ventilated nacelle: The nacelle’s lack of atmospheric containment limited options for detection and suppression of fire incidents.
• Bushfire risk: Located remotely within Australian bushland, the site presented a real risk of fire escalation.
• Limited public fire data: The impact of fires on the wind energy industry is difficult to assess due to incomplete and generally non-publicly available data.

Bloom’s Impact

• Material and fluid selection: Bloom conducted a detailed review of material properties and recommended substitutions to reduce fire ignition risk.
• Evacuation and procedures: Quantitative modelling demonstrated that turbine evacuation was achievable with sufficient redundancy, ensuring safety for personnel.
• Fire suppression optimisation: Bloom coordinated a team of suppression specialists and used quantitative modelling to show that active suppression was not required, saving the project tens of millions of dollars.
• Fire spread and bushfire mitigation: Bloom developed a bushland management strategy to minimise the potential impact of fires on the turbines and surrounding environment.