Enefit Green has reached a settlement with GE Vernova concerning the incident during construction of the Akmene wind farm in Lithuania, resulting in the collapse of a turbine (pictured) in May 2023.
As a part of the negotiated outcome, Enefit said the companies have agreed to a settlement associated with the incident resulting in contractual adjustment to the Akmene Wind farm Turbine Supply Agreement (TSA) between the parties, including material compensation totalling about €8m with approximately one half in cash and the remainder in non-cash elements.
“The months following the incident have been fast-paced and focused on resolving key steps with GE Vernova, our external technical advisors at DNV, legal advisors at Sorainen, insurance advisors at Marsh and other parties,” said interim chairman of the management board of Enefit Green Andres Maasing.
He added: “Our initial priority was to identify the root cause and to ensure the safety of the remaining turbines and the safety of the community that lived and operated in the vicinity of the turbines.
“Once that was done, we moved on to gradually restarting the wind farm and replacing the collapsed turbine. After restoring operations, we concentrated on negotiations with respect to our accrued rights under the contract, securing a consideration for our rights under the contract.
“I’m pleased that we have reached a constructive, out-of-court settlement with GE Vernova, and I am deeply grateful for their professionalism and preparedness to achieve this outcome.
“This outcome was also made possible through the dedicated efforts of our internal and external teams in Lithuania and Estonia, whose contribution has been invaluable.”
The 75MW Akmene wind farm is one of Enefit Green’s newest wind farms in Lithuania. It consists of 14 wind turbines supplied by GE Vernova.
The array is expected to produce about 258 gigawatt-hours of green electricity annually.