Denmark

Denmark

Vestas suffers V112 prototype blade failure

DENMARK: Vestas has reported part of the blade has fallen off a prototype of its latest V112 3MW turbine.

A Vestas V112 in testing
A Vestas V112 in testing

The failure follows only weeks after Vestas signed a deal with a group to supply 140 of the turbines for a 420MW project in Australia, which will be the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Responding to questions at the time questions over whether the turbine had been tested enough for such a large project, Vestas president Ditlev Engel insisted the turbine had been thoroughly tested that he was "very confident" it was ready to be installed on a wind farm of this size.

According to reports, a 6-metre to 7-metre portion of a blade broke off the prototype yesterday. In response, Vestas said it was investigating the reasons but denied it was a design failure.

A Vestas promotional video covering the testing of the V112 turbine

For a common location with an annual average wind speed at hub height of 6.7m/s, a V112-3.0MW, which has a 112-metre rotor diameter, has a 38% greater energy production than a V90-3.0MW with a 90-metre blade. The V112 is designed for both onshore and offshore.

As a result of the incident, Vestas’ shares declined by 5.4%. The decline follows a difficult period for the company, following last month’s quarterly results announcement.

Vestas share prices nosedived by around 20% in the aftermath of the results announcement where it was revealed the company had made a £120million loss over the previous three months.

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