Giant turbine blade falls into ocean, disrupting construction of gigawatt scale offshore wind project

A wind turbine blade has fallen into the ocean during construction of a 960 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm in the German North Sea, although it has since been recovered by police and other authorities.

One of the blades from the Vestas V236-15 MW turbines being installed at the He Dreiht offshore wind project failed at the end of July, detaching from the turbine and falling into the ocean.

According to Thomas Kusterer, deputy CEO and CFO at EnBW, the issue is regarded as a one-off and “not a broader technical issue” with the other wind turbines.

The German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) reported in late July that they had been asked to recover the 20-metre-long blade after a previous attempt had been made by construction crews “had been unsuccessful.”

“Due to its size and composition, it posed a significant risk to shipping,” the Bundespolizei said, and that “the blade was floating just below the surface and was therefore difficult to spot.”

“The rotor blade was first towed to the vessel by a control boat and then pulled over the stern well onto the main deck. During this process, it was repeatedly cut into sections with a saw so that it could be pulled on board in its entirety.”

Kusterer said basic commissioning of the wind park is progressing well” even as they are no longer allowed to work at the damaged turbine, one of 65 being installed at the project. He said that construction of the wind farm is expected to be completed in the coming days.

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