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.
There have also been two blade failures on Dogger Bank, a giant project off the coast of England, although GE Vernova blamed the incidents on errors in installing and operating the turbines rather than on manufacturing defects.
The offshore wind business is considered to have strong potential to generate clean electric power but it is off to a choppy start, especially on the East Coast of the United States.
GE Vernova, a large player in land-based wind turbines, had rushed to develop an offshore machine to enter what looked like a lucrative new area. But the company has struggled in the new area and is trimming its ambitions. On Wednesday, GE Vernova, which makes a wide range of electrical equipment, reported a loss of $100 million on $8.9 billion in revenue for the third quarter.
The company has declined to go ahead with plans to build a factory for turbine blades in Britain. Mr. Strazik said GE Vernova was now focused on working off a loss-making backlog of orders that he estimated at $3 billion. He added that he was reluctant to take new offshore orders under the terms available in the current market.
The question now is which companies will step up to build the offshore wind turbines that regions, especially Europe, are relying on to achieve their goals in reducing emissions.
Developers had welcomed GE Vernova’s effort to expand into offshore wind farms, hoping it would provide competition in what has been a narrow field. Siemens Gamesa, a unit of a German company, had dominated the offshore sector but also ran into problems, mainly with its land-based machines.
Siemens Gamesa has warned that western wind equipment suppliers’ problems could provide an opening for competitors from China.
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