A wind turbine burst into flames at a Cambridgeshire wind farm yesterday, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.
Emergency crews rushed to Coldham Windfarm in the Fens at around 10am after one of the site's eight turbines caught fire.
Firefighters from March and Stanground attended the scene on March Road in Coldham, where they found a well-developed blaze.
The fire crews worked alongside site staff to secure the area, allowing the fire to burn out safely, while emergency services remained at the scene until around 1pm as regular inspections continued throughout the day.
Fire officials confirmed they would conduct further inspections in the evening to ensure the area remained secure
PA
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Working with staff on site, they made the area safe and allowed the fire to burn out safely."
The crews left the scene by 1pm but continued to make regular safety inspections throughout Sunday.
Fire officials confirmed they would conduct further inspections in the evening to ensure the area remained secure.
The cause of the fire is yet to be fully established as investigators are set to determine what sparked the blaze.
Previously, a separate fire incident took place in Chulmleigh, Devon, leading to a turbine's engine being destroyed in September 2024.
The year before, at Scroby Sands off Norfolk's coast, a turbine burned until self-extinguishing in August 2023.
In Hull, a turbine fire caused charred debris to land near a chemical plant, raising fears about potential collapse.
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A 2014 study by Imperial College London described these fires as a "big problem" that was not being "fully reported" as the research measured a global average of 11.7 fires annually among 200,000 wind turbines at that time.
Today, the number of turbines worldwide has grown to 341,000, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.
The UK currently hosts more than 11,000 wind turbines across the country.
These structures, designed to harness wind power, are inherently exposed to oxygen flows that can intensify any fire that breaks out.
Today, the number of turbines worldwide has grown to 341,000, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (Stock)
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Coldham Windfarm, established in 2005, was developed as a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and the Co-Operative Group.
Wind power has become increasingly vital to Britain's energy supply, generating 29 per cent of the UK's electricity in 2024, placing wind energy nearly on par with gas, which provided 30 per cent of the nation's power.
However, recent challenges emerged in late January 2025, with near-zero wind conditions causing a drop in turbine electricity production.
This slump has forced the UK to import power from European neighbours including France, Norway, Belgium and Denmark.
Now, wind electricity generation is reportedly at its lowest level since 2015, despite a significant increase in turbine numbers since then.
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