Copyright CWIF 2015

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Summary of Wind Turbine Accident data to 31 March 2015

These accident statistics are copyright Caithness Windfarm Information Forum 2015. The data may be used or referred to by groups or 

individuals, provided that the source (Caithness Windfarm Information Forum) is acknowledged and our URL 

www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk quoted at the same time. Caithness Windfarm Information Forum is not responsible for the accuracy of 

Third Party material or references.

The detailed table includes all documented cases of wind turbine related accidents and incidents 

which could be found and confirmed through press reports or official information releases up to 31 

March 2015. CWIF believe that this compendium of accident information may be the most 

comprehensive available anywhere.

Data in the detailed table is by no means fully comprehensive – CWIF believe that it may only be the 

“tip of the iceberg” in terms of numbers of accidents and their frequency. Indeed on 11 December 

2011 the Daily Telegraph reported that RenewableUK confirmed that there had been 1500 wind 

turbine accidents and incidents in the UK alone in the past 5 years. Data here reports only 142 UK 

accidents from 2006-2010 and so the figures here may only represent 9% of actual accidents. 

The data does however give an excellent cross-section of the types of accidents which can and do 

occur, and their consequences. With few exceptions, before about 1997 only data on fatal accidents 

has been found. 

The trend is as expected – as more turbines are built, more accidents occur. Numbers of recorded 

accidents reflect this, with an average of 16 accidents per year from 1995-99 inclusive; 48 accidents 

per year from 2000-2004 inclusive; 108 accidents per year from 2005-09 inclusive, and 155 accidents 

per year from 2010-14 inclusive.

This general trend upward in accident numbers is predicted to continue to escalate unless HSE make 

some significant changes – in particular to protect the public by declaring a minimum safe distance 

between new turbine developments and occupied housing and buildings. 

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014

Accidents in year

Year
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In the UK, the HSE do not currently have a database of wind turbine failures on which they can base 

judgements on the reliability and risk assessments for wind turbines. Please refer to 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr968.pdf. 

This is because the wind industry “guarantees confidentiality” of incidents reported. No other energy 

industry works with such secrecy regarding incidents. The wind industry should be no different, and 

the sooner RenewableUK makes its database available to the HSE and public, the better. The truth is 

out there, however RenewableUK don’t like to admit it.

Some countries are finally accepting that industrial wind turbines can pose a significant public health 

and safety risk. The Scottish government has proposed increasing the separation distance between 

wind farms and local communities from 2km to 2.5km (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlandscotland-politics-26579733) though in reality the current 2km separation distance is often shamefully

ignored during the planning process.

Our data clearly shows that blade failure is the most common accident with wind turbines, closely 

followed by fire. This is in agreement with a recent survey by GCube, the largest provider of 

insurance to renewable energy schemes. Their recent survey reported that the most common type of 

accident is indeed blade failure, and that the two most common causes of accidents are fire and poor 

maintenance. http://www.gcube-insurance.com/press/gcube-top-5-us-wind-energy-insurance-claimsreport/

Data attached is presented chronologically. It can be broken down as follows:

Number of accidents

Total number of accidents: 1698

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 10 98 30 17 70 66 59 71 82 124 131 131 119 167 167 166 157 33

* to 31 March 2015 only

Fatal accidents

Number of fatal accidents: 114

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 9 15 3 0 1 4 4 4 5 5 11 8 7 15 15 4 2 2

* to 31 March 2015 only

Please note: There are more fatalities than accidents as some accidents have caused multiple 

fatalities.

Of the 160 fatalities:

 94 were wind industry and direct support workers (divers, construction, maintenance, 

engineers, etc), or small turbine owner /operators.
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 66 were public fatalities, including workers not directly dependent on the wind industry (e.g. 

transport workers). 17 bus passengers were killed in one single incident in Brazil in March 

2012; 4 members of the public were killed in an aircraft crash in May 2014 and a further three 

members of the public killed in a transport accident in September 2014.

Human injury

133 accidents regarding human injury are documented. 

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 5 4 1 2 2 2 6 10 16 16 9 14 12 15 9 7 3

* to 31 March 2015 only

115 accidents involved wind industry or construction/maintenance workers, and a further 24 involved 

members of the public or workers not directly dependent on the wind industry (e.g. fire fighters, 

transport workers). Six of these injuries to members of the public were in the UK. 

Human health

Since 2012, 56 incidents of wind turbines impacting upon human health are recorded. 

By year: 

Year 12 13 14 15*

No. 6 27 19 4

* to 31 March 2015 only

Since 2012, human health incidents and adverse impact upon human health have been included. 

These were previously filed under “miscellaneous” but CWIF believe that they deserve a category of 

their own. Incidents include reports of ill-heath and effects due to turbine noise, shadow flicker, etc. 

Such reports are predicted to increase significantly as turbines are increasingly approved and built in 

unsuitable locations, close to people’s homes.

Blade failure

By far the biggest number of incidents found was due to blade failure. “Blade failure” can arise from a 

number of possible sources, and results in either whole blades or pieces of blade being thrown from 

the turbine. A total of 315 separate incidences were found:

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 35 4 6 15 13 15 12 16 22 20 26 20 19 28 30 28 6

* to 31 March 2015 only

Pieces of blade are documented as travelling up to one mile. In Germany, blade pieces have gone 

through the roofs and walls of nearby buildings. This is why CWIF believe that there should be a 

minimum distance of at least 2km between turbines and occupied housing, in order to adequately 

address public safety and other issues including noise and shadow flicker.
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Fire

Fire is the second most common accident cause in incidents found. Fire can arise from a number of 

sources – and some turbine types seem more prone to fire than others. A total of 246 fire incidents 

were found:

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 6 3 2 24 17 15 14 12 21 17 17 13 20 19 23 18 4

* to 31 March 2015 only

The biggest problem with turbine fires is that, because of the turbine height, the fire brigade can do 

little but watch it burn itself out. While this may be acceptable in reasonably still conditions, in a storm 

it means burning debris being scattered over a wide area, with obvious consequences. In dry 

weather there is obviously a wider-area fire risk, especially for those constructed in or close to forest 

areas and/or close to housing. Four fire accidents have badly burned wind industry workers.

Structural failure

From the data obtained, this is the third most common accident cause, with 161 instances found. 

“Structural failure” is assumed to be major component failure under conditions which components 

should be designed to withstand. This mainly concerns storm damage to turbines and tower collapse. 

However, poor quality control, lack of maintenance and component failure can also be responsible.

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 1 14 9 3 9 7 4 7 9 13 9 16 9 11 10 14 12 4

* to 31 March 2015 only

While structural failure is far more damaging (and more expensive) than blade failure, the accident 

consequences and risks to human health are most likely lower, as risks are confined to within a 

relatively short distance from the turbine. However, as smaller turbines are now being placed on and 

around buildings including schools, the accident frequency is expected to rise. 

Ice throw

35 reports of ice throw were found. Some are multiple incidents. These are listed here unless they 

have caused human injury, in which case they are included under “human injury” above.

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 9 0 0 2 2 4 4 3 0 3 4 1 1 1 0 1 0

* to 31 March 2015 only

Ice throw has been reported to 140m. Some Canadian turbine sites have warning signs posted 

asking people to stay at least 305m from turbines during icy conditions.

These are indeed only a very small fraction of actual incidences – a report* published in 2003 
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reported 880 icing events between 1990 and 2003 in Germany alone. 33% of these were in the 

lowlands and on the coastline.

* (“A Statistical Evaluation of Icing Failures in Germany’s ‘250 MW Wind’ Programme – Update 2003, M Durstwitz, BOREAS VI 9-11 April 

2003 Pyhätunturi, Finland. )

Additionally one report listed for 2005 includes 94 separate incidences of ice throw and two reports 

from 2006 include a further 27 such incidences. The 2014 entry refers to multiple YouTube videos 

and confirmation that ice sensors do not work.

Transport

There have been 140 reported accidents – including a 45m turbine section ramming through a house 

while being transported, a transporter knocking a utility pole through a restaurant, and various turbine 

parts falling off and blocking major highways. Transport fatalities and human injuries are included 

separately. Most accidents involve turbine sections falling from transporters, though turbine sections 

have also been lost at sea, along with a £50M barge. Transport is the single biggest cause of public 

fatalities.

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 4 3 6 6 19 10 11 11 24 17 10 17 2

* to 31 March 2015 only

Environmental damage (including bird deaths)

165 cases of environmental damage have been reported – the majority since 2007. This is perhaps 

due to a change in legislation or new reporting requirement. All involved damage to the site itself, or 

reported damage to or death of wildlife. 58 instances reported here include confirmed deaths of 

protected species of bird. Deaths, however, are known to be far higher. At the Altamont Pass 

windfarm alone, 2400 protected golden eagles have been killed in 20 years, and about 10,000 

protected raptors (Dr Smallwood, 2004). In Germany, 32 protected white tailed eagles were found 

dead, killed by wind turbines (Brandenburg State records). In Australia, 22 critically endangered 

Tasmanian eagles were killed by a single windfarm (Woolnorth). Further detailed information can be 

found at: www.iberica2000.org/Es/Articulo.asp?Id=3071 and

at: www.iberica2000.org/Es/Articulo.asp?Id=1875

600,000 bats were estimated to be killed by US wind turbines in 2012 alone.

1,500 birds are estimated to be killed per year by the MacArthur wind farm in Australia, 500 of which 

are raptors.

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 1 0 1 1 8 1 6 5 10 21 13 19 20 20 16 20 3

* to 31 March 2015 only

Other (miscellaneous)

333 miscellaneous accidents are also present in the data. Component failure has been reported here 

if there has been no consequential structural damage. Also included are lack of maintenance, 

electrical failure (not led to fire or electrocution), etc. Construction and construction support accidents 
Copyright CWIF 2015

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are also included, also lightning strikes when a strike has not resulted in blade damage or fire. A 

separate 1996 report** quotes 393 reports of lightning strikes from 1992 to 1995 in Germany alone,

124 of those direct to the turbine, the rest are to electrical distribution network. 

** (Data from WMEP database: taken from report “External Conditions for Wind Turbine Operation – Results from the German ‘250 MW 

Wind’ Programme”, M Durstewitz, et al, European Union Wind Energy Conference, Goeteborg, May 20-24, 1996)

By year: 

Year 70s+80s 90s 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15*

No. 13 7 4 12 13 11 12 16 18 24 27 25 43 36 33 33 5

* to 31 March 2015 only

Caithness Windfarm Information Forum

31 March 2015