Eneco to Pay Multi-Million Bill for Princess Amalia Wind Farm

Eneco will pay tens of millions of Euros in repair costs for its Princess Amalia Wind Farm (Prinses Amaliawindpark), according to Dutch media.

In 2013, it was found that the wind farm’s turbines are no longer standing firmly, which created the risk that they would fall over. Eneco hired the company Hertel to repair the turbines the same year, but terminated the EUR 14 million contract soon, with an explanation that there has been a “defective implementation of the assignment”. Fabricom was hired to reinforce the turbines in January 2014.

This led Tecmacon to file a lawsuit against Eneco, saying that other companies did not get a possibility to apply for the job, since there was no announcement about awarding the new contract. Eneco replied that there was no time for any procedure that would give other companies a chance to apply because the risks got even bigger after Hertel’s operation. The judge agreed with this.

All this resulted in a double bill for Eneco, writes the Dutch media. Eneco had an insurance policy on the wind farm at Delta Lloyd, but later found that defects in the turbines are not covered by this insurance.

The problem occurred in grouted parts of the Eneco Princess Amalia Wind Farm turbines. However, the construction contractor has complied with all market-based agreements on the use of grout, so Eneco must pay all costs for the repair from its own pocket, Eneco’s spokesman Toby Ellson told the Dutch news site Energeia.

Image: Eneco