At the centre of the dispute is an incident, first disclosed in Windpower Monthly, at the 50MW Kumeyaay wind farm near San Diego, southern California.
In December 2009, a large number of blades on the wind farm's Gamesa 2MW turbines cracked when a fierce storm passed through the region. A row ensued between Infigen and Gamesa over who was responsible for the replacement of the 75 blades. Infigen said the replacement should be covered by warranty while Gamesa has invoiced Kumeyaay.
At the time, a source speaking on condition of anonymity said Infigen argued the blades should not have cracked in high winds and are therefore Gamesa’s responsibility under warranty.
But the source said that Gamesa had countered with allegations that the operator had set an improper pitch angle on the blades that left them vulnerable to cracking under high winds.
Infigen is also in dispute with Gamesa over four other wind projects, Allegheny, GSG, Bear Creek and Mendota Hills. Infigen said it was pursuing claims against Gamesa for failure to complete warranty work, pay damages associated with availability guarantees, production losses associated with end of warranty work.
Additionally, Infigen is claiming the blades on the G87 turbines at the wind farms are potentially defective and susceptible to failure in advance of their lifespan. The blades would have been made at Gamesa's Cambria plant in Pennsylvania.
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