- GE Vernova attributes recent turbine blade failures at US and UK offshore wind farms to unrelated causes.
- The latest incident at Dogger Bank wind farm on August 22 resulted from strong winds during a storm.
- GE Vernova shares increased by 3% following the announcement despite three blade failures in four months.
GE Vernova confirmed that recent turbine blade failures at offshore wind farms in the US and the UK are unrelated. The company attributed the latest incident to solid winds, as it contends with three blade failures in four months at wind farms under construction.
The most recent failure occurred on August 22 at the Dogger Bank wind farm in the North Sea, near Yorkshire. This mishap followed a blade failure at the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts just over a month earlier, which scattered debris onto nearby beaches. In May, another blade at Dogger Bank sustained damage during installation.
The Vineyard Wind blade failure stemmed from a manufacturing defect, which sparked concerns about a broader issue. However, GE Vernova clarified that solid winds during a storm caused the latest failure. At the time, the turbine’s rotor remained locked, and the yaw system, which orients the rotor toward the wind, was disabled, leaving the turbine vulnerable. The turbine was in the commissioning phase during the incident.
To address these issues, GE Vernova implemented measures to reduce risks in such situations. “We continue to investigate the recent offshore wind events involving our blades and take every necessary step with customers and authorities to safely proceed with installing the Dogger Bank and Vineyard Wind farms,” the company stated. “Our current analyses show that the causes of the recent blade events are unrelated.”
Dogger Bank involves a partnership between Britain’s SSE Renewables and Norwegian companies Equinor and Vargronn. Vineyard Wind represents a joint venture between Avangrid, the US arm of Spain’s Iberdrola, and Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Despite the incidents, GE Vernova’s shares rose by $5.66, or 3%, to $197.02 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.