Blade failure on Vineyard Wind project costs manufacturer $700 million, more blade problems found

GE Vernova, the company that manufactured the shovel that a wind turbine broke off the coast of Nantucket and littered the shoreline with potentially dangerous fragments is taking a financial hit from the incident.

In its third quarter results call, according RTO Insider InformationThe company said its onshore wind business posted its best quarter since 2021, but issues with its offshore business had taken the wind out of the good news. The July 13 shovel failure and subsequent delays will cost the company approximately $700 million.

GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said the company cut offshore jobs in the third quarter and would not accept new orders until there is a substantial change in the offshore wind industry’s finances. Meanwhile, GE Vernova will focus on meeting a $3 billion offshore wind order book.

The company said it is removing “some blades” from Vineyard Wind following an analysis of 8,300 ultrasound images per blade, the Nantucket Current informationas well as physical inspections with “tracker” drones.

The company did not provide specific numbers on how many blades would be removed or what that analysis found, but if it removes more blades, the company will likely find more problems. GE Veranova will also “reinforce” other blades, but no further details were provided on the number of methods.

GE Vernova has long stated that the problem was the result of a “manufacturing deviation” at a Canadian facility. The number of sheets found with the deviation, Strazik said, was in the “low single digits” of the total amount the company makes.

“In those cases, we are taking action on those swords, and we are doing that right now, and we are really getting to the point of going back to execution at sea,” Strazik said.

in a statementGE Vernova and Vineyard Wind said they are taking steps to remove seafloor debris and the blade root left after the largest portion broke off. Removal of debris from the seafloor will be completed this week, but root removal will take weeks.

While Strazik seemed optimistic that the company was close to moving forward, the statement stated that on Monday they were granted approval to resume installing new blades on the turbines at the project “once strict operating conditions and security”.

in a statement sent to the CurrentAccording to the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Vineyard Wind is still prohibited from producing power, installing blades or conducting any activities at the turbine where the incident occurred.

According to the BSEE, on a case-by-case basis, some specific activities will be permitted after “sufficient risk analysis has been carried out and mitigation measures have been adopted.”

On Wednesday’s earnings conference call, Strazik said it had “completed the root cause analysis,” which confirmed the issue was caused by a manufacturing deviation at the Canadian factory. The BSEE said the suspension order requires Vineyard Wind to conduct a root cause analysis and provide copies to the agency.

Just the news GE Vernova was contacted for clarification on whether this analysis was complete and the agency had not received it. The company did not respond. Vineyard Wind reiterated language in the joint statement that approval was contingent on meeting strict operational and safety conditions.

While the companies have not received approvals to proceed nor have they been given any guarantees that conditions will be met, the companies’ announcement left opponents of offshore wind concerned that the project was moving forward.

in a letter to the editor of the Currentmembers of ACK for whalessaid they are “shocked and truly disturbed” that Vineyard Wind says it will soon resume construction.

“The permits for this project have been recklessly approved from the beginning, and the project has already shown a huge failure that does not appear to have been thoroughly addressed. A blade explosion, of which we are still seeing the damage, was not even considered in Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan,” ACK for Whales members wrote.

When the company moves forward with the project, it could be some time before it regains the trust of the Nantucket community. A non-profit organization had co-signed an agreement forcing the city and other signatories to pledge their support for the Vineyard Wind project in exchange for $16 million to mitigate the impacts of the turbines. He nonprofit organization announced Wednesday is withdrawing from the agreement.