GE Vernova blade failure at UK site tied to high winds

A blade failure at an offshore wind farm under construction near the UK occurred in high wind conditions during the commissioning process, according to GE Vernova Inc., the turbine supplier. 

The Aug. 22 failure at the Dogger Bank project took place while some of the turbine’s key systems were disabled because of commissioning work being performed, according to an emailed statement from the company Friday. Commissioning involves work on turbines once they’re installed to get them ready to produce electricity.

This was the latest failure by a GE Vernova blade in recent months — the string of incidents have been a public black eye for the company’s struggling offshore wind business. Another blade failed at the same Dogger Bank project in May, while a July failure at the Vineyard Wind project in the US led to shards of fiberglass washing ashore and closing beaches in one of the Northeast’s most expensive vacation destinations.

“We continue to investigate the recent offshore wind events involving our blades and are taking every necessary step with customers and authorities to safely move forward with the installation of the Dogger Bank and Vineyard Wind farms,” a GE Vernova spokesperson said in the statement. 

GE Vernova shares gained 3.5% to trade near $198 at 1:19 p.m. in New York. The shares are up roughly 50% since their debut earlier this year. 

The incident this month happened as a major storm approached the region, leading to high winds at the Dogger Bank site off the northeast coast of England. The turbine rotor was locked in position and the yaw system that lets the nacelle turn to face the wind was disabled. 

In a statement, Dogger Bank said “the turbine was left in a fixed and static position, rendering it vulnerable during a subsequent storm with high winds,” adding that “GE Vernova analysis has shown that this blade event was not caused by an installation or manufacturing issue.”

The May Dogger Bank incident was because of an installation issue, and the July blade failure has been linked to a manufacturing issue, according to GE Vernova, which said it’s taking steps to prevent additional accidents.

While GE Vernova has faced criticism for the repeated failures of its blades, the disclosure that they’re not all connected to a single design flaw is good news, according to Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BloombergNEF. Both projects are using GE Vernova’s Haliade-X turbine, a relatively new design. 

“It’s a very positive development if these incidents are unrelated, and not due to a common fault,” he said in an interview. Multiple “blade incidents in the same offshore wind platform in such a short time is very unusual.”