Accidents & Safety
I’ve been concerned about safely working with wind energy since 1976 when I nearly killed myself taking down a 1930s-era windcharger. While wind energy is an environmentally beneficial technology–and that’s the reason we need to use it–it can and has killed. Consequently, I’ve been tracking fatal accidents in wind energy since I wrote an obituary for a colleague, Terry Mehrkam, in 1981. For this reason, my books on wind energy have always included a section on safety.
Family of man (29) who died while cutting trees, settles for six figure sum
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The family of a 29-year old man who died while clearing trees for construction of a wind farm has settled various legal actions for a substantial six figure sum.
Construction worker at site of Iowa wind farm killed
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A worker at the site of a wind farm under construction in north-central Iowa has died after being run over by a semitrailer.
California Worker Dies after Blade Falls Off Wind Machine
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Paul Gipe
The Associated Press circulated a news item on 14 January 2019 about a field hand killed near Visalia when the blade of a “wind machine” fell off. See California orchard worker dies after 600-pound blade falls off wind machine.
Correction to the Death of Robert Skarski in Wind Power 2004
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Paul Gipe
I’ve been alerted to an error in the second edition of Wind Power (2004): Renewable Energy for Home Farm and Business.
OSHA Investigating Worker Death at Iowa Wind Farm
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The worker has since been identified as Joseph Hill of Minnesota. Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver said deputies responded to the site, and provided medical attention. The deputies determined that the accident was not a criminal matter.
OSHA investigating construction worker’s death at St. Ansgar wind farm
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Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver said the fatal accident occurred about 1 p.m. Saturday while the worker was loading heavy equipment at Turtle Creek Wind Farm, which is under construction near St. Ansgar.
Iowa Construction Worker Dies at Turtle Creek Wind Farm
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An Iowa construction worker was killed in what authorities are calling an “industrial accident” in St. Ansgar, Iowa over the weekend.
Fatal crawler crane overturn
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A crawler crane operator has died in an incident at a wind farm in Poweshiek County, Iowa over the weekend.
Regular safety training could prevent wind farm deaths, study claims
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David Mcphee
Research published today by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) claims that wind farm technicians often struggle to recall key safety instructions.
What instances of attempted murder or significant violence have occurred against wind industry personnel?
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Michael Barnard
Recently a Dutch wind farm developer’s home was firebombed. Dutch Wind Developer Fire Bombed What other instances of violence against wind industry staff have occurred?
Tower Climbing Safety
- Ellis Fall Safety Solutions (fallsafety.com)
- Introduction to Fall Protection, Fifth Edition, Print/Digial Bundle, American Society of Safety Engineers by J. Nigel Ellis, Ph.D., CSP, P.E., CPE
- Before Climbing That Tower by Mick Sagrillo; a checklist before climbing a guyed-lattice tower to perform an inspection of a small wind turbine.
- Draft Best Practices in Small Wind: Tower Climbing Safety by Mick Sagrillo; background on the Tower Climbing Safety document developed by the Small Wind Conference and small wind turbine installation professionals.
- RenewablesUK (Great Britain): Working at Height and Rescue–Wind Turbines Standard
Safety
In 2013 I pulled together some links to documents on safety relative to the wind industry. These topics went beyond simply tower climbing safety and safety at height and included work around rotating machinery and other common industrial hazards. Unfortunately, the industry has changed dramatically in the past decade. Most safety documents once freely available are now securely hidden by paywalls. Moreover, even the wind energy trade associations where these documents were once located have ceased to exist, merging with other renewable trade associations. Some of the British documents are still available and I’ve provide links to them. I found one public document on the off shore industry in the USA.
Europe
Great Britain
- RenewableUK: Health & Safety
- Training (for members only)
- Wind Turbine Safety Rules
North America
USA
Contact the Clean Power Association.
Worker Health and Safety on Offshore Wind Farms, Transportation Research Board, 2012.
Canada
Contact the Canadian Renewable Energy Association.
Mortal Accident Summary
I no longer actively track deaths in the wind industry. However, I will update my data as it becomes available. Below is a presentation updating my statistics to 2020. Also below is a link to the original article. For a complete analysis see Chapter 17 in my most recent book Wind Energy for the Rest of Us.
- Wind—the Breath of Life or the Kiss of Death: Analysis of Wind Energy Fatalities, 15 April 2021. Presentation to Winterwind 2021 21 April on a Comparison of Wind’s Fatalities to that of Other Industries.
- Wind Energy — The Breath of Life or the Kiss of Death: Contemporary Wind Mortality Rates, 6 December 2012 update. The original article appeared in the fall of 2001.
Note that the spreadsheet has six tabs. This is only the summary page and does not include all the data on the summary page.
My Deaths Database is publicly available. Simply ask for it.
