Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has big problems, and it’s going to cost the company billions – what’s wrong with its onshore wind turbines?
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA is Siemens Energy AG’s wind turbine unit, and it’s one of the world’s largest wind turbine makers. Its turbine problems are expected to result in up to $5 billion in net loss for the parent company.
The company’s Spanish division found that its onshore wind turbines had worse-than-expected quality flaws. The company will have to fix flaws in rotor blades and bearings, ranging from component failures to small cracks.
We now know that Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s onshore wind turbine issues have to do with wrinkles in rotor blades and particles in the bearings section on the 4.X and 5.X, the turbine maker’s two most recent onshore wind turbine platforms. Bloombergreports that “the problems center on the discovery that a main piece on the frame of a wind turbine can move or twist over time, potentially damaging other critical components.”
About 2,100 4.X and 800 5.X models are in use. Siemens Gamesa says that 15-30% of them are problematic. The turbines can still be operated, but the company’s plan is to implement a quality management system and fix the problems within regular service intervals.
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s CEO, Jochen Eickholt, said in a call on Monday that the company “sold wind turbines that were not sufficiently tested.” Eickholt also said that the quality issues are unlikely to happen again at the same scale.
It’s going to cost the company €1.6 billion to fix these issues, and most of the costs will occur in 2024 and 2025. Siemens Energy has set up a special committee to address the quality and productivity problems, and Eickholt says that going forward, the company would place “stability and profitability before growth.”
Bloombergreports that the company will present the result of a strategic review in November.
September 18 update: German newspaper Handelsblattreported today that “according to industry circles,” Siemens Gamesa has largely stopped selling new onshore wind turbines.
A Siemens Energy Group spokesman refuted that claim but confirmed that Siemens Gamesa has restricted sales: “Our absolute priority is to revise the affected systems in existing customer projects. That’s our focus.”
So Siemens is focusing on its rather large issues at hand and also turning its attention to a sizable backlog order. That’s prudent.
Photo: Siemens Gamesa
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check outEnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
XCMG battery swap crane; via Etrucks New Zealand.
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
Advertisement – scroll for more content
The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.