Blade Failure at Dogger Bank A Tied to Commissioning Process, GE Vernova Says

The blade failure event at the Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm last month was not caused by an installation or manufacturing issue but happened during the commissioning process, according to an analysis conducted by GE Vernova.

The blade failure occurred on the morning of 22 August and, according to an update from the Dogger Bank Wind Farm consortium, no one was injured or in the vicinity when the damage was sustained. The developer said the surrounding marine area was restricted and relevant authorities were notified.

The consortium also said it was working closely with the turbine manufacturer, GE Vernova, which initiated an investigation into the cause of the incident.

GE Vernova’s analysis established that during the commissioning process being performed by the company, the turbine was left in a fixed and static position, rendering it vulnerable during a subsequent storm with high winds.

The surrounding marine at the site remains restricted in line with safety procedures, according to Dogger Bank Wind Farm, owned by the consortium of SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn.

Dogger Bank A is currently in the wind turbine installation stage. In July, 20 turbines were fully installed at the project site and several more were in place but only with towers and nacelles installed.

Installation activities at the site will restart in the coming days, said Dogger Bank Wind Farm.

The blade installation at Dogger Bank Wind Farm was delayed due to the blade failure on a GE Vernova wind turbine in July in the US, followed by the investigation and quality control measures.

As reported on 25 July, the breakage of the blade on one of GE Vernova’s Haliade-X wind turbines at the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm in the US was caused by a manufacturing deviation, according to the preliminary investigation.

Work on the 800 MW offshore wind farm had been stopped by the government which later removed some of the restrictions, allowing for the installation of nacelles and towers to resume.

At the beginning of May, a blade on an installed turbine at the Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm also sustained damage, after which GE Vernova launched an investigation into the cause of the incident. The company’s initial findings were that the circumstances surrounding the incident were isolated to the single blade affected and that the damage was due to an installation error.

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