A renewables services company has been fined £80,000 after a maintenance manager was engulfed in flames following an explosion at a Highland wind farm, leaving him scarred for life after multiple surgeries.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that Martin Shaw was working on a power cabinet controlling 33,000 volts at the Tom nan Clach wind farm, approximately 20 miles north of Aviemore, when the equipment he believed had been isolated suddenly exploded on 23 June 2020.
Natural Power Services Limited, headquartered in Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, admitted Health and Safety breaches relating to the incident. Sheriff Gary Aitken imposed the fine, reduced from an initial £120,000, along with a £6,000 victim surcharge.
Confusion Over Isolation Procedures
The court was told that the horrific incident would never have occurred had an initial isolation switching programme been followed rather than being changed twice, causing fatal confusion about which power control cabinet, known as a PIR, Mr Shaw was working on.
The original intention was for Mr Shaw to begin maintenance work on PIR cabinet number one of two poorly labelled units. However, he carried out his task on PIR number two instead. His colleagues did not notice which cabinet he had been attending to, and power was switched back on to the wrong cabinet when Mr Shaw moved from number two to number one.
Fiscal depute Lisa Duffus told the court: “Mr Shaw was working on a lean-to ladder when a loud bang was heard and Mr Park and Mr Jackson knew immediately it was a flashover and went to help”.
Colleagues David Jackson and Michael Park responded immediately, using fire extinguishers on their colleague before pouring bottled cold water over him until emergency services arrived.
Mr Shaw was evacuated by helicopter to the Specialist Burns Unit in Livingstone, where he remained in intensive care until 5 July 2020 after receiving two skin grafts. The maintenance manager suffered severe burns requiring multiple surgeries on his face, chest, neck, scalp, arm and hand, leaving him scarred for life.
The incident highlights the critical importance of adherence to electrical isolation procedures mandated under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which require that electrical equipment be “disconnected and separated from every source of electrical energy in such a way that this disconnection and separation is secure”.
The renewables sector has established specific safety protocols through the Wind Turbine Safety Rules, a model set of procedures developed by wind farm owners and operators to manage significant risks associated with turbine operations. These rules emphasise that the boundary between wind turbine safety rules and high voltage safety rules must be “clearly and unambiguously defined to make it absolutely clear which safety rules apply where”.
Background
Tom nan Clach is a 39.65MW onshore wind farm, located on Cawdor Estate land in Nairnshire. Originally developed by Belltown Power, Infinergy and The Cawdor Estate, the facility comprises 13 Vestas V112-3.05 MW turbines and is owned primarily by Greencoat UK Wind, which holds a 75 per cent stake.
Natural Power Services, the company prosecuted, provides operations and asset management services across the renewable energy sector. Established in 1995, the firm employs more than 400 renewable energy experts across 12 international offices and operates the UK’s largest independent renewable energy control room outside of the National Grid.
