A turbine has malfunctioned at Deepwater Wind’s 30MW Block Island offshore wind project in the US.
The GE Haliade 6MW machine was undergoing routine testing in November during the commissioning phase of the five-turbine project.
The turbine was producing about 1MW of power, well below its 6MW capacity, at the time.
A drill bit was left inside the generator of turbine number 2 “as a result of human error,” Deepwater spokeswoman Meaghan Wims told reNEWS.
As a result, magnets in the generator were damaged.
“GE will repair the turbine and expects to have it operational in the near term,” said Wims.
Despite the setback, Deepwater aims to start commercial operation with the remaining four turbines after the company finalises operations protocols with regional grid operator ISO New England.
The developer expects to complete the process and begin delivering power into the grid in the coming days.
The Block Island scheme, the first offshore wind farm in the US, produced its first watt on 12 September and has generated more than one gigawatt-hour of power so far.
Image: 30MW Block Island offshore project to start operating in coming days (Deepwater Wind)
Block Island suffers turbine hitch
UPDATE: Investigators find drill bit inside GE Haliade 6MW machine
By EBS