Ørsted Taiwan offshore wind fire raises safety concerns for Incheon project

Original Korean article: Incheon Today

A fire broke out on a turbine at the Greater Changhua 4 offshore wind farm in Taiwan, which Ørsted completed and began operating in January of this year, just seven months into operations. As accidents including fires and structural collapses continue to occur at Ørsted's overseas offshore wind farms, establishing safety measures for the Incheon offshore wind project has emerged as a priority.

Ørsted is pursuing the development of a large-scale offshore wind farm in waters west of Deokjeok-do in Incheon. However, the waters overlap with major passenger and cargo ship routes connecting Incheon and the Five West Sea Islands, as well as prime fishing grounds where Incheon fishermen conduct their operations. Concerns have been raised that an accident could directly impact the livelihoods and safety of island residents.

Equipment accidents ranging from turbine fires to structural collapse

According to foreign media reports from August 26, a fire occurred on August 8 on one 14-megawatt turbine manufactured by Siemens Gamesa at the Greater Changhua 4 offshore wind farm, located 35 to 60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County in Taiwan. After an anomaly was detected, the system shut down automatically, but an internal fire followed and extinguished naturally. Fortunately, there were no people or vessels in or near the turbine, and no casualties occurred. After the accident, a safety exclusion zone was established around the turbine. Ørsted disconnected the turbine from the power grid and is investigating the cause with relevant authorities.

This is not the first equipment accident at an Ørsted facility. On April 6, 2022, the rotor and nacelle of a 3.6-megawatt Siemens Gamesa turbine at the Anholt offshore wind farm in Denmark, which has a capacity of 400 megawatts, fell entirely into the sea. The cause was investigated as a crack in a welded section. At the time, Ørsted requested that temporary navigation exclusion zones be established in waters near ten European facilities where the same model was installed. On October 27, 2021, a fire occurred on one 8-megawatt turbine at the Borssele 1 and 2 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands, which has a capacity of 752 megawatts, and grid disconnection measures were taken.

Ship collision risks and navigation safety threats from offshore structures

Beyond equipment defects, the installation of large-scale offshore structures has created risks of ship collisions. On April 24, 2023, a general cargo vessel at the Gode Wind 1 farm in Germany, which has a capacity of 330 megawatts, deviated from its course and collided with a turbine structure, causing hull flooding. On September 19, 2024, an Ørsted offshore wind operations support vessel at the Hornsea 1 farm in the United Kingdom collided with a turbine foundation during maintenance work, damaging the substructure.

This demonstrates that when a wind farm is developed, risks exist not only from equipment failure but also from collisions with passing vessels and accidents from increased operations support vessel traffic.

Incheon offshore wind overlaps shipping routes and fishing grounds

Ørsted is pursuing development of an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts in waters 35 to 70 kilometers west of Deokjeok-do in Incheon, comprising the Incheon Offshore Wind 1 project at 800 megawatts and the Incheon Offshore Wind 2 project at 600 megawatts. The waters are a major shipping route for passenger and cargo vessels connecting Incheon Port and the Five West Sea Islands. At the same time, they are a prime fishing ground where Incheon fishermen conduct operations such as squid fishing.

If a turbine fire or structural collapse occurs within the offshore wind farm, a temporary navigation exclusion zone will inevitably be established in the surrounding waters. This could lead to traffic control or rerouting of passenger vessels connecting Incheon and island areas, potentially infringing on the mobility rights of island residents. Additionally, ship collisions or equipment damage could cause marine pollution, and navigation restrictions could result in fishing ground access controls, threatening the livelihoods of local fishermen. Even with thorough verification and safety zone establishment in case of emergency, the actual damage would be borne by residents and fishermen.

Gang Cha-byeong, chairman of the Deokjeok Jawol Fishing Village Cooperative Association, said: "Residents have continuously expressed concerns about the risks that arise during the replacement and maintenance of offshore wind turbines. If fires or collapse accidents that have occurred overseas recur in Incheon waters, they could threaten not only equipment but also the transportation rights of island residents and the survival rights of fishermen, so thorough safety assessments and measures must be established."

KWI developer profile — Orsted

2 projects in Korea totalling 1,470 MW. Compiled from the KWI database. Not part of the source article.

Incheon 1 Offshore Wind — this article

Incheon 2 Offshore Wind — this article

Project data: KWI database — Electricity Business Licence records, EIA filings (ME2025C009, ME2025C010), Electricity Regulatory Commission minutes, and pre-EBL permit filings.