Christoph Steitz & Nina Chestney, "Analysis: Siemens Energy's turbine troubles rattle wind sector" https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/siemens-energys-turbine-troubles-rattle-wind-sector-2023-07-07/

« Siemens Energy shocked the wind sector in late June when it warned of faulty components and possible design faults in its onshore wind turbines.

It said it could not yet quantify the cost, but anticipated the issues would take at least 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to fix. Company sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said the final bill could be even higher. »

See also:

Elliot Smith, "Wind turbine troubles have sent one stock tumbling. There are fears it could be a much wider issue" https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/03/siemens-energy-wind-turbine-problems-could-be-an-industry-wide-issue.html

« [Christoph Zipf, spokesman for industry body WindEurope] said that 20 years ago, a typical wind turbine would have 1 million watts of capacity; today, European original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, are testing 15 MW turbines.

“This means that turbines have become bigger as well, posing challenges to components (quality, materials, longevity). The introduction of competitive auctions has also been a driving factor in this cost reduction,” Zipf added. [...]

According to ONYX Insight, which monitors wind turbines and tracks over 14,000 across 30 countries, most turbines are designed and certified for 20 years but contain components that will fail during that time due to a “compromise between the cost of the system and reliability. [...]

In turbines built in 2023, more than 40% of gearboxes will need to be replaced after 20 years of project life, according to ONYX, along with over 20% of main bearings and more than 5% of blades. »

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