IN-DEPTH: Turbine Failures and Plunging Stock Add to Growing Doubt Over Wind Industry
An increase in the failure of wind turbine components and the subsequent financial fallout is creating uncertainty about the true sustainability of an industry campaigning for green energy.
Siemens Energy announced on June 22 that it would be withdrawing its profit assumptions and initiating a technical review of Siemens Gamesa’s onshore wind farm, which could cost over 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).
“This is a disappointing, bitter setback,” Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt said in a June conference call. “The quality problems go well beyond what had been known hitherto, in particular in the onshore area.”
The mechanical problems could affect 15 to 30 percent of the company’s wind turbine farms and take several years to repair….