{"id":272313,"date":"2023-08-09T12:54:26","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T10:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272313"},"modified":"2023-08-09T12:54:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T10:54:40","slug":"how-faulty-wind-turbines-threaten-to-bring-down-a-german-industrial-powerhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272313","title":{"rendered":"How faulty wind turbines threaten to bring down a German industrial\u00a0powerhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t Paul Kolk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Siemens announced a deal to merge its wind power business with rival Gamesa in 2017, executives saw only upside.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Siemens chief executive Joe Kaeser said there was \u201ca clear and compelling industrial logic\u201d that would make \u201crenewable energy more cost-effective\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the\u00a0<\/em>turbine industry has proved as fickle as the wind<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siemens warned on Monday that it was facing a \u20ac4.5bn (\u00a33.9bn) loss this year as a result of issues within its wind turbine division.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrinkles in rotor blades and faulty gears are among the problems uncovered, which have led to operating issues and warranty claims from buyers.\u00a0<\/em>Inflation has only added to headaches<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The admissions of failures wiped as much as \u20ac6bn off the value of Siemens on Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German industrial powerhouse has been in the wind power market for almost two decades and Gamesa, which was until last year a joint venture, traces its roots in the industry back to the 1970s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet a rapid expansion of its manufacturing in recent years has left the combined business over-extended.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jochen Eickholt, chief executive of Siemens Gamesa, admitted: \u201cWe sold turbines too quickly,\u201d describing the company as a \u201cvictim of our own ambitions\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siemens Gamesa manufactures blades for wind turbines, which can measure over 100m in length and are made up of many layers of material.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology must be highly precise and testing uncovered flaws causing \u201cabnormal vibrations\u201d, which could lead to damages and other issues.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jochen Eickholt, chief executive of Siemens Gamesa, has put the issues down to \u201cwrinkles\u201d within layers of the blades and has blamed suppliers. Some have been cut off in response.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiccups weren\u2019t picked up earlier because the company was focused on the rapid introduction of new turbines and the ramping up of capacity, Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch said.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathryn Porter, an independent analyst at energy consultancy Watt Logic, said: \u201cThere\u2019s been pressure from the developers to have bigger turbines, because then obviously it\u2019s easier to build, but there have been a lot of warranty problems.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow you\u2019re getting people saying behind the scenes, maybe we need to have a pause on this bigger and bigger turbine thing because they just keep breaking.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Profitability has been weak in the industry for a long time, she said\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The German company is not alone in struggling: its competitors and its customers are also battling a more expensive landscape for the green energy industry.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vestas, the world\u2019s biggest wind turbine maker, lost \u20ac1.5bn last year after a surge in costs, particularly metal prices.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief executive Henrik Andersen said in May: \u201cThe wind industry remains challenged by political uncertainty, slow permitting processes and high inflation, which we expect to continue throughout 2023.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operators face significant challenges too. Energy giant Vattenfall last month\u00a0<\/em>shelved plans for a major wind farm off the coast of Norfolk<\/em><\/a>\u00a0after soaring inflation made the project unviable.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/business\/2023\/08\/08\/faulty-wind-turbines-threaten-bring-down-german-industrial\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Siemens warned on Monday that it was facing a \u20ac4.5bn (\u00a33.9bn) loss this year as a result of issues within its wind turbine division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":272320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818051,691820489,691820620,691818322],"class_list":{"0":"post-272313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-germany","9":"tag-siemens-energy","10":"tag-siemens-gamesa","11":"tag-wind-turbines","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0e8ce098bf480c0d0ca9ca9cbd4af017d.jpg?fit=2400%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-18Q9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":333274,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=333274","url_meta":{"origin":272313,"position":0},"title":"Siemens Sinks: Germany\u2019s Top Wind Turbine Maker Sacks 4,100 Workers\u00a0Overnight","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"19\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Remember how the wind and solar industries would create hundreds of thousands of highly-paid groovy \u2018green\u2019 jobs? No? Well, as it turns out, the few (highly subsidised) jobs created are disappearing like the sun over the horizon. Although, for the axed workers, there will be no reappearance the following day.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Chief Executive Jochen Eickholt\"","block_context":{"text":"Chief Executive Jochen Eickholt","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=chief-executive-jochen-eickholt"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-389.png?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-389.png?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-389.png?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-389.png?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-389.png?fit=1200%2C599&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":189114,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=189114","url_meta":{"origin":272313,"position":1},"title":"FT: Siemens\u2019 Wind Energy Losses Threaten the Future of the Company","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/02\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Guest essay by Eric Worrall h\/t\u00a0Net Zero Watch; Shareholder Fury: According to FT, the disastrous financial losses in Siemens\u2019 wind power unit are a threat to the financial credibility of the entire company. Siemens Energy\u2019s struggling wind unit blows Germany\u2019s largest spinout off courseInvestors quiz management after four profit warnings\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0Siemens-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0Siemens-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0Siemens-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/0Siemens-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":192993,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=192993","url_meta":{"origin":272313,"position":2},"title":"RE Bites Back: Europe\u2019s Wind Turbine Makers Can\u2019t Compete with Coal-Powered China","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/03\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Victims of their own success, Europe\u2019s wind turbine makers are being crushed by rocketing power prices \u2013 caused by reliance on intermittent wind and solar. Oh, the irony\u2026 The staggering surge in European energy costs has rendered them unable to compete with Chinese manufacturers, whose operations benefit from abundant supplies\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0cjinacoalpower.jpg?fit=1200%2C939&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0cjinacoalpower.jpg?fit=1200%2C939&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0cjinacoalpower.jpg?fit=1200%2C939&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0cjinacoalpower.jpg?fit=1200%2C939&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/0cjinacoalpower.jpg?fit=1200%2C939&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":275641,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=275641","url_meta":{"origin":272313,"position":3},"title":"Siemens Energy\u2019s wind turbine problems could cost 4.5 bln\u00a0euros","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"So much for \u201ccheap wind power\u201d!","rel":"","context":"In \"Siemens Energy\"","block_context":{"text":"Siemens Energy","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=siemens-energy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Siemens-Gamesa-will-supply-36-units-of-its-SG-3.4-132-wind-turbine-for-the-Voltalia-wind-project-in-Brazil.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Siemens-Gamesa-will-supply-36-units-of-its-SG-3.4-132-wind-turbine-for-the-Voltalia-wind-project-in-Brazil.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Siemens-Gamesa-will-supply-36-units-of-its-SG-3.4-132-wind-turbine-for-the-Voltalia-wind-project-in-Brazil.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Siemens-Gamesa-will-supply-36-units-of-its-SG-3.4-132-wind-turbine-for-the-Voltalia-wind-project-in-Brazil.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0Siemens-Gamesa-will-supply-36-units-of-its-SG-3.4-132-wind-turbine-for-the-Voltalia-wind-project-in-Brazil.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":287799,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287799","url_meta":{"origin":272313,"position":4},"title":"Siemens Cancel Virginia Wind Blade\u00a0Factory","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"13\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"'Development milestones could not be met,' company says. Siemens-Gamesa-to-Double-Hull-Blade-Facility BY\u00a0KATE ANDREWS\u00a0\/\u00a0ROBYN SIDERSKY Amid failing turbine components and financial challenges, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy said Friday it has \u201cdiscontinued\u201d its plans to build\u00a0the nation\u2019s first offshore wind-turbine blade manufacturing facility\u00a0at the Port of Virginia\u2019s Portsmouth Marine Terminal. \u201cSiemens Gamesa will continue\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"$200 million project\"","block_context":{"text":"$200 million project","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=200-million-project"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/OIG-2023-11-13T120832.243.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/OIG-2023-11-13T120832.243.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/OIG-2023-11-13T120832.243.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/OIG-2023-11-13T120832.243.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338026,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338026","url_meta":{"origin":272313,"position":5},"title":"Virginia\u2019s risk of offshore wind turbine blade failure is serious","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On July 26, CFACT\u2019s President Craig Rucker sent Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin a letter warning him about the serious risk of blade failure in the giant offshore wind facility being built off Virginia. The warning builds on the recent blade failure off of Nantucket, which has littered the beaches with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"blade failure\"","block_context":{"text":"blade failure","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=blade-failure"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Wind-turbine-blade.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Wind-turbine-blade.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Wind-turbine-blade.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Wind-turbine-blade.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0Wind-turbine-blade.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=272313"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":272322,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272313\/revisions\/272322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/272320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=272313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=272313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=272313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}