****
Utterly pointless, on every level; and insanely dangerous to man and beast, one of the more exciting features of these things is their ability to spontaneously combust.
Above is a video, and below is the story and pics, of a recent piece of ‘green’ energy pyrotechnics on the Prairie.
Watch it burn: Multiple Lubbock volunteer fire crews monitor wind turbine fire
Ellysa Gonzalez
Lubbock Online
24 May 2016
Lubbock County volunteer fire crews responded to a call of a burning wind turbine Monday afternoon.
Firefighters on scene said there wasn’t much they could do except let it burn out.
The fire was reported at 3:45 p.m., said Tim Smith, fire chief for West Carlisle Fire Department.
Three departments responded to the blaze north of Reese Center and County Road 6400 including West Carlisle, Shallowater and Wolfforth.
The turbine is part of the growing Prairie Dog WTG Project, Smith said.
Representatives from the company that owns the turbine were on scene before firefighters arrived and told firefighters about 80 gallons of gear oil were inside it, Smith said.
The fire was 300 feet in the air.
Just after 4 p.m., debris could be seen falling from the structure and fire trucks could be seen driving around the base of the structure.
Smith said smoldering debris had already sparked a few ground fires since the initial blaze on the turbine started, but crews were able to extinguish them quickly.
“This is a pretty rare event,” Smith said.
This is the first wind turbine fire he has seen in his 27-year career.
The generator inside the turbine is believed to have sparked the fire but an investigation will be conducted later in the week to assess the damage, Smith said.
Crews planned to remain on scene until the fire burned out.
Lubbock Online
Tim Smith reckons “This is a pretty rare event”!
Tim should get out more. In the meantime our Texan operatives should flick him these stories to bring him up to speed:
Victorian Country Fire Authority’s Claim that Wind Turbines Not Combustible Scorched
BUSHFIRE RED ALERT: Wind Power Really Is Setting the World on FIRE
2 Year Old Siemens Turbines Falling Apart: Wind Farm Investors, Get Out While You Can
At the present rate, the self-immolation of these things will soon outstrip the regularity of sunrises. Albeit, with more terror and risk to life and limb.
STOP THESE THINGS 
Gear box oil is not combustible – ok – has anyone at the CFA ever bothered typing “windfarm” and “fire” and “image” into a popular search engine. These things never burn – except for the hundreds of “completely safe” burnt ones that turn up online.
“’This is a pretty rare event,’ Smith said”.
Really? If it’s so rare, why are there so many videos of it happening?
Reblogged this on Patti Kellar.
Reblogged this on UPPER SONACHAN WIND FARM.
Here in Maine the wind industry isn’t required to report turbine fires. They are listed with the DEP as “oil spills”. A private aircraft flying over the TransCanada Kibby project in the mountains of western Maine reported the burned out turbine which is the only way Mainers knew about it. This happened in winter when snow was on the ground. Eventually this will happen in summer and we’ll have a doozy of a forest fire, caused by an “oil spill”.
The CFA gave evidence to last year’s Senate Wind Turbine Inquiry that gear box oil is not combustible on the advice of Vestas?
I’ve seen the email trail…Nice try Vestas and AGL. Shame on you.