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GE Vernova Finds Further Problems With Its Wind Turbine Blades
The company said other blades had a “manufacturing deviation” similar to a blade that shattered in July off the coast of Nantucket.
GE Vernova, the maker of the wind turbine blade that shattered last summer and scattered debris on Nantucket’s beaches, said on Wednesday that it had found similar problems with other turbines, raising questions about its future role in the offshore wind business.
The company discovered that a “low single-digit” number of blades had a “manufacturing deviation” similar to that of the blade that had collapsed in July, Scott L. Strazik, the company’s chief executive, said on a call with analysts to discuss financial results.
“We’ve had a difficult four months and are disappointed given the impact on our customers and on our financial results,” Mr. Strazik said. He added that the company was “proactively strengthening” some of the blades either in the factory or in the field. The blades involved are believed to have been made at a factory in Gaspé, Quebec, although Mr. Strazik did not specifically single that plant out.
GE Vernova said it would take a $700 million charge for losses on offshore wind contracts largely related to blade failures, which have delayed Vineyard Wind, a $4 billion project that had been on course to be the first commercial offshore wind farm in waters off the United States.
Federal regulators had halted construction after the accident but recently allowed some activity to resume.
In a statement on Wednesday, GE Vernova and Vineyard Wind said the turbine maker “intends to remove some blades from the Vineyard Wind farm while strengthening other blades.” The companies indicated that it might be weeks before they could start installing new blades.
