As the investigation continues into the failure of one of the wind turbine blades at Massachusetts’ Vineyard Wind 1, GE Vernova manufacturer of the turbines and blades says it has found a manufacturing issue that will cause it to inspect one model of blades. While saying they do not believe it is a design flaw, GE Vernova is warning investors of potentially material consequences.
The incident began on July 13 when one of the approximately 350-foot-long blades at the wind farm off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket fractured. Vineyard Wind, which is a joint venture between Iberdroa’s Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, initially emphasized that a large portion of the blade had remained attached while smaller pieces were being retrieved from the ocean and began washing up on local beaches.
Good morning from Vineyard Wind turbine AW38.
— Nantucket Current (@ACKCurrent) July 18, 2024
This is the damaged turbine blade that has sent thousands of pieces of fiberglass & foam core onto Nantucket’s south shore.
The damaged blade is now in danger of detaching and falling into the sea. More debris came loose last night pic.twitter.com/oBA3FUXxKJ
The company warned on July 17 that it had “observed compromise to the integrity of the GE Vernova blade,” and by the following day said a significant portion had detached from the turbine. Pieces of fiberglass continued to wash up on shore while the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement ordered the wind farm to suspend operations and installation pending further investigation.
Nantucket’s government advised on July 22 that approximately 25 percent of the blade remained upright at the 12 o’clock position. They estimated (which may be high according to other reports) that about 50 percent of the blade was still hanging down. They said the part of the blade that descended into the ocean last Thursday morning had been located but not yet retrieved.
Speaking to investors today, GE Vernova which has been investigating the circumstances of the failure now says it has found what it believes to be a manufacturing error at its plant in Gaspe, Canada. The preliminary results show “insufficient bonding,” in effect a failure of the glue that holds the composite materials together. Speaking to investors, management said its inspection and quality assurance process should have identified the problem before the blade was shipped.
The company reports it has produced approximately 150 blades for its 13 MW Halliade-X turbines at the plant in Canada. With 10 operating turbines, each with three blades as well as another 11 in place of the planned 62 wind turbines, Vineyard Wind 1 has just under half of the blades. GE Vernova says it will as the next step re-inspect all the blades from the facility to determine if it was a one-off or wider problem. The company told analysts today that it was not prepared to discuss a timeline.
While not providing further details, GE Vernova did say it was a different issue than the blade failure at the UK’s Dogger Bank wind farm experienced earlier this year. A blade also detached from one of the turbines but the investigation showed it was an installation failure.
Larger pieces of debris being removed from the beaches (Nantucket government)
These problems come as the company is reporting strong sales and works to hone its offshore strategy after spinning off as part of the breakup of GE. Earlier this year the company said it was abandoning plans for a larger 18 MW turbine, which New York State later blamed when it canceled three selected projects in its third-round solicitation.
In a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), GE Vernova warns that it is the contractor for the installation of the Vineyard Wind 1 turbines. It said this could represent a contractual breach due to delays which could result in claims as well as claims related to remedial costs. The Town of Nantucket as well as others in Massachusetts are discussing recovery strategies for the costs they are incurring ranging from cleaning their beaches to lost revenues due to it being the peak summer tourist season.
