Electrical fault at PV plant triggers forest fire in Spain

A forest fire in southern Spain that burned roughly 800 hectares of pasture, crops, and oak forests originated in an electrical box of a photovoltaic plant’s tracking system, according to the Civil Guard’s Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA).

From pv magazine Spain

A forest fire that burned roughly 800 hectares in Casas de Don Pedro, in Spain’s southern province of Badajoz, in June originated inside a photovoltaic plant, according to SEPRONA.

Investigators determined through forensic inspection that the fire began in a box that overheated the solar panel tracking system. It spread rapidly due to high temperatures and gaps in the plant’s implementation of the Extremadura Forest Fire Prevention Plan (PREIFEX).

SEPRONA has been investigating the fire since last June near the Casas de Don Pedro plant, in the Las Trescientas and Navalallegua areas. Endesa, a subsidiary of the Italian multinational Enel, built several 127 MW photovoltaic plants there following Spain’s third renewable energy auction in July 2017. In 2022, the company integrated crops into some of these plants.

The Civil Guard has opened an investigation into a local resident responsible for the power plant.

Weather conditions accelerated the fire, and the proximity of isolated homes and livestock facilities prompted authorities to declare a level 1 hazard.

The blaze affected pasture, crops, holm oak forests, and scrubland, with damage reported by about a dozen residents to government offices.

Firefighters deployed four helicopters, two small planes, a seaplane, 15 fire trucks and crews, environmentalists, technicians, medical services, local council personnel, and Civil Guard patrols. Authorities brought the fire under control after roughly four hours.