A US judge has barred GE Renewable Energy from selling its Haliade-X turbine in the country in the latest ruling in a patent case involving rival Siemens Gamesa.
GE will no longer be able to offer a specific design of the 12-14MW machine, which US District Judge William Young had earlier ruled infringed one of the German-Spanish manufacturer’s patents.
However, the US turbine company will still be able to supply Haliade-X machines to the 800MW Vineyard Wind and 1.1GW Ocean Wind 1 projects under a specific ‘carve-out’ in the ruling.
GE said it is exploring “other design options” to continue offering a variant of the turbine in its home market. The original patent infringement ruling is understood to relate to structural support for large offshore turbines.
The US company also said it is exploring “all legal options” including an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as well as a requesting a stay on the injunction following the ruling.
“While we’re pleased the Ocean Wind I and Vineyard Wind projects are allowed to move forward with the current design of GE’s Haliade X offshore wind turbine, we respectfully disagree with the injunction,” said a spokesman.
“We are fully committed to the US offshore wind industry, to each of our ongoing projects, and remain confident in the legal and technical options available to us.”
GE claims that Siemens Gamesa does not practise the patent in question and has questioned whether it is in the public interest to use it in such a legal case.
The German-Spanish company welcomed the ruling.
“We understand the Court’s decision to carve out the Vineyard Wind and Ocean Wind 1 projects from the injunction, and we will continue to protect and defend our intellectual property and the innovations provided by Siemens Gamesa’s offshore wind turbines,” a spokeswoman said.
“While Siemens Gamesa does not yet use the patent, such innovations are the result of a significant investment of company resources in research and development. The Court found that GE’s infringement of the ‘413 patent would irreparably harm Siemens Gamesa if the Haliade-X is not enjoined, and that the injunction does not, in fact, disserve the public interest.”