A wind turbine off the coast of Co Wicklow is believed to have been struck by lightning amid an intense thunderstorm on Wednesday afternoon (19 October).
Smoke was spotted billowing from the 3.6MW turbine in the Arklow Bank Wind Park as the Status Orange weather event brought lightning and heavy spot flooding along the East Coast.
A statement from the Department of Transport as received by the Irish Mirror said: “There were no personnel in the vicinity of the turbine so no risk to life.
“The company are dealing with the incident and the Coast Guard have issued a Radio Navigation Warning to alert vessels in the area.”
My dad just took this photo from our house in Co. Wicklow - apparently lightning struck a wind turbine off the coast and now it's on fire. ? pic.twitter.com/XbpsBL2RRs
— Amy Kinsella (@Amy_M_Kinsella) October 19, 2022