EnBW’s CEO said work has been partially halted but ‘basic commissioning’ of the site is progressing
EnBW has partially suspended work at its 960MW He Dreiht offshore wind farm in the German North Sea after a Vestas blade detached from one of the turbines late last month.
During an earnings call on Friday, EnBW deputy CEO and CFO Thomas Kusterer said that “certain activities have been temporarily paused as a precaution”.
German utility EnBW is “not allowed to work on the impacted wind turbine,” or on blades from “the same production site”.
He said, however, that “the basic commissioning of the wind park is progressing well and is ongoing.”
EnBW’s He Dreiht in 2017 was one the first offshore wind farms to be successful at tender without bidding for subsidies, although other subsidy-free arrays eventually were built faster.
The 960MW project is set to comprise 64 of Danish supplier Vestas’ flagship 15MW offshore wind turbines and became the first site to see one of the V236 machines successfully commissioned last year.
A blade failure was discovered on one of the turbines at the project in late July.
German Federal Police found a portion of a turbine blade floating in the water near the site soon after. Due to its size and composition, police said the blade posed a significant risk to shipping. The blade fragment was also floating just below the surface and was therefore difficult to spot.
The blade parts were brought ashore in the German seaside town of Cuxhaven using a crane.
The root cause of the failure remains unknown, according to Kusterer, who said the company is still assessing the “impact” of the incident. However, he added that EnBW believes “it is a single issue with one blade and not a further technical issue.”
EnBW’s CEO also confirmed that the installation of the 64th turbine is about to take place, meaning the wind farm is near completion.
Vestas confirmed that one of its turbines had experienced a “blade incident” during operation.
“Together with the customer, we have initiated a root cause investigation of the incident, which we have made significant progress on, but the investigation is still ongoing and a final root cause has not yet been determined,” the manufacturer told Recharge.
“Simultaneously, activities to contain environmental impact, finalise installation and commissioning and get the turbine back in operation are progressing.”
“Join the companies that smart energy professionals follow – because when you’re featured on GEN, the industry pays attention.”
