A wind turbine near Highmore caught fire Monday morning. Highmore fire chief Ken Hoffman attested to the rarity of such a spectacular hazard:
Hoffman said he had never seen a fire erupt from a turbine before and that the damage from the blaze completely destroyed the turbine.
“One of the blades was on fire, and the whole generator up there was burnt,” Hoffman said [Quinn Gienapp, “‘Completely Destroyed’; Highmore Turbine Fire a Rarity,” KELO-TV, 2026.10.21].
Nobody died, human, bovine, or otherwise. Chief Hoffman couldn’t say what caused the fire, but remember: the stuff that burns in a wind turbine is the oil that lubricates the parts inside. And keep some perspective: had this been an oil refinery fire or spill, we’d have had toxic carcinogens all over Hyde County, evacuations, and long-term health hazards.
“Oil and gas industry failures tend to be pretty mundane, but anytime something goes wrong with renewable energy, people just become incensed,” the Alliance for Affordable Energy’s Jackson Voss said in a phone interview. “Oil and gas is either not treated with that same level of concern or is treated as if it’s overblown.”
…“If a wind turbine breaks down, there’s a small possibility someone gets hurt … but when an oil and gas spill happens, it’s a real potential public health hazard,” Voss said. “Often, it’s many times more expensive to address and requires years of mitigation” [Wesley Muller, “The Stark Differences Between Wind and Oil Industry Accidents,” Louisiana Illuminator, 2024.08.06].
Wind energy causes fewer deaths per terawatt-hour of electricity generated than any fossil fuel source. Even dams are slightly more dangerous than wind turbines. The only energy sources less lethal than wind turbines are nuclear and solar:
But despite the relative risks, America’s destroyer-in-chief is urging the United Kingdom to tear down its North Sea wind turbines and drill for more oil. Trump yesterday declared that imported wind turbine parts threaten national security but didn’t order any new tariffs on wind-energy gear.
The faster fire consumes all these eyesores the better.
The cost of subsidizing, manufacturing, transporting, erecting, maintaining then removing and disposing of just one wind turbine eyesore bat and bird killer would take about six hundred subscribers to energy self-reliance. Microgrid technologies are destined to enhance tribal sovereignty, free communities from electric monopolies and net-metering only gives control back to utilities enabled by moral hazard.
No corporate taxes, a compliant regulator, a dearth of environmental protection and cheap labor make South Dakota the perfect dumping ground for Earth killers like coal and eyesores like wind farms.
Nevertheless, according to Earth hating Public Utilities Cartel Commissioner Chris Nelson the amount of wind power generation may have reached its plateau. In a 2019 interview with WNAX Radio Nelson said he believes there will be rapid development of solar power production facilities instead. But, the predicted shift toward solar, wind energy didn’t stop entirely; major projects like the $400 million Crowned Ridge Wind Farm still moved forward around that timeframe. However, his prediction accurately foreshadowed a broader regional and national trend of diversifying renewable portfolios with rapid solar deployment to balance out the grid.
I do not get the hate towards wind energy by Trump or anyone else. I remember having 2 windmills growing up that were used to pump water. I have no idea how long those windmills had been in place, but I’m sure they dated back to the early 1900’s. I still see an occasional wind mill out there still pumping water. Amazing how our ancestors had no issues with wind power, but now people hate the towers.
No form of energy is totally green or clean. No form of energy is totally free or totally free of government subsidies. Think about the money the federal government spent building the dams and hydropower plants. Think about the money the federal government gave to get the railroads built that now carry items like coal, ethanol, oil, etc. Think about all the federal and state money spent on roads that are used to haul corn and soybeans to be processed into energy.
Thanks to Trump and MAGA, I see so much hate towards so many things that years ago would not have been an issue.
Lignite still produces the nicest bone-warming heat on a cold winter day, anthracite the longest lasting when you tuck in at night.
Well said Scott. I am the descendant of farmers from Norway and German farmers from Russia. One homestead in N.D., a 2-story sod house, still had the wind mill for water when I was there in 2008. Can’t go there now, it’s private property.
Geothermal was used here by some homesteaders and I’ve mentioned before we have a family who grow exotic fruit year-round in their below ground Garden of Eden. Others warm the floors of their man caves, garages, and/or homes.
Some of the same people who hate these types of energy wouldn’t be here had it not been for windmills and geothermal.
The old bar between Highmore and Holabird burned down decades ago. I wonder how that happened? It must be a Hyde county thing. It was a swinging place.