GE Vernova has launched a massive reinspection programme on up to 150 offshore blades manufactured at Gaspe in Canada, after determining a manufacturing fault was the cause of a blade failure 12 days ago at the Vineyard Wind project off Massachusetts.
The recent failure of a GE Vernova turbine blade at the project was due to a “manufacturing deviation”, the company said during an investors call on 24 July.
GE Vernova’s chief executive Scott Strazik said: “We have identified a material deviation, or a manufacturing deviation, in one of our factories that through the inspection or quality assurance process, we should have identified.”
He added that the company is going to use its existing data and “reinspect all of the blades that we have made for Offshore wind and for context in this factory in Gaspé, Canada where the material deviation existed”.
Strazik said the factory has made about 150 blades and referred to the use of non-destructive testing, like ultrasound, to identify deviations.
“We are going to go and do this on every blade, prudent, thorough process.
“We have work to do, but I have a high degree of confidence that we can do this, and we’ll do it in support of both the customer and the agency and move forward from there,” Strazik added.
He reiterated there were no indications of an engineering design flaw in the blade or information of a connection with the blade event experienced at the Dogger Bank offshore wind project in the UK, “which was caused by an installation error out at sea”.
During the second quarter of 2022, GE Vernova reported that revenues in its wind division decreased by 21% to $2.1bn, due to lower onshore wind deliveries that were partially offset by offshore wind backlog execution.