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‘Repowering’ era for America’s aging wind energy industry begins, despite Trump’s effort to kill it

April 28, 2025 — On Inauguration Day, President Donald Trump issued an executive order indefinitely halting permits for new onshore wind energy projects on federal land, as well as new leases for offshore wind farms in U.S. coastal waters. The action not only fulfilled Trump’s “no new windmills” campaign pledge, but struck yet another blow to the wind industry, which has been hit hard over the past few years by supply chain snags, price increases upending project economics, public opposition and political backlash against federal tax credits, especially those spurring the fledgling offshore wind sector.

Nonetheless, the nation’s well-established onshore wind industry, built out over several decades, is generating nearly 11% of America’s electricity, making it the largest source of renewable energy and at times last year exceeding coal-fired generation. On April 8, the fossil-fuels-friendly Trump administration took measures to bolster coal mining and power plants, but as the infrastructure driving wind energy ages, efforts to “repower” it are creating new business opportunities for the industry’s key players.

This repowering activity has emerged as a bright spot for the wind industry, giving a much-needed boost to market leaders GE Vernova, Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, a subsidiary of Munich-based Siemens Energy. Following several challenging years of lackluster performance — due in particular to setbacks in both onshore and offshore projects — all three companies reported revenue increases in 2024, and both GE Vernova and Siemens stock have moved higher.

Read the full story at CNBC

Fallout continues from Vineyard Wind blade failure

November 22, 2024 — Last summer’s structural failure of a single blade on a southern New England offshore turbine continues to reverberate, with new demands for quality assurances and the industry under pressure from incoming president Donald Trump’s promise “to make sure” offshore wind power “ends on day one.”

Allegations that testing data was falsified at LM Wind Power’s plant in Gaspé, Quebec, where the blade was manufactured, are being investigated as part of ongoing probes into the July 13 failure of a turbine blade at the Vineyard Wind project off Nantucket Island, according to  reporting by Canadian news media outlets in late October.

Turbine manufacturer GE Vernova identified a “manufacturing deviation” in the blade built by LM Wind Power, causing breakage of the glued fiberglass laminate structure. On Oct. 24 Quebec news station Radio-Gaspésie and newspaper Gaspésie Nouvelles reported about 20 persons had been laid off or suspended from their jobs at LM Wind Power, including “directors, managers and supervisors,” the newspaper report said.

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova have been removing and replacing blades on turbines, with little information released on the work progress. GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik has said quality testing on manufactured blades have shown similar defects on less than 10 percent of suspect blades, or “low single digits.”

Strazik says the company is “proactively reinforcing some blades, either in the factory or in the field, to improve their quality and ensure their useful life.” The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is continuing its investigation into the blade failure.

Read the full article at Workboat

Cut corners? GE Vernova fires workers after probe into Vineyard Wind 1 failure

November 20, 2024 — Following a probe into the Vineyard Wind 1 blade that failed over the summer, GE Vernova’s offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant in Quebec, Canada has fired or suspended several workers.

Reuters originally reported the news last week citing sources “familiar with the matter,” and GE Vernova confirmed the reports this week. GE Vernova began the probe in response to a July incident, in which a suspected “manufacturing deviation” led to a Haliade-X turbine blade breaking, causing foam and fiberglass to plummet into the waters around Nantucket. Debris continued to wash ashore for weeks after the incident, putting Vineyard Wind 1 and GE Vernova in an uncomfortable spotlight.

Read the full article at Renewable Energy World