The Ongoing Problems With Wind Power

From REnews we get details on a suit. AEP sues GE over ‘defective turbines’

This article is focused on a lawsuit directed at GE's wind turbine division, but GE is not the only manufacturer that is having problems with the longevity of their turbines. GE does seem to be having more problems than their competitors, based on what the filing states.

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP) is power generating company serving 11 state: Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

“Within only two to three years of commercial operation, the GE wind turbine generators have exhibited numerous material defects on major components and experienced several complete failures, at least one turbine blade liberation event, and other deficiencies,” alleged AEP.

The filing alleges that at the date of the complaint, 28 June 2024, a “significant portion of the wind turbine generators have completely failed or have otherwise been rendered inoperable, requiring immediate repair”.

I would really like video of that "blade liberation event," but I can't find it. One wind turbine, not belonging to AEP, just had a blade drop to the ground and shatter. Wind turbine blades do fail, sometime spectaularly, but there is usually not much excitement. They shred themselves due to manufacturing problems, and the turbine stops.

I can't find details on the specific problems that the GE turbines are experiencing, though apparently GE is also suing a bearing manufacturer. Cracked bearings in the gearboxes are one of the principle problems experienced by wind turbines, causing failure of the gearboxes. (See the video linked below.)

If you install a piece of industrial equipment expecting to get a 20 year lifespan, and that equipment fails after two years, you are going to be in trouble with respect to return on your investment. If you're a power company, counting on those generators, you are also going to have a problem with your customers.

Here is a video on the subject. The Problem with Wind Energy from Real Engineering. I have queued it up to the point where it is talking about the gearboxes in the wind turbines and their failure rate.

These heavy, 15 tonne gearboxes have been a major source of frustration for power companies. Although they have been designed to have a 20 year lifespan, most don't last 7 years without extensive maintenance.

While I have it queued up to the section on gearboxes, and their failure. The entire video, which is almost 17 minutes long, is a good explanation of the problem with wind power. Not just the problems with the gearboxes, but problems with getting the generated power to match the grid under changing wind speeds.

There are other videos, talking about the problems of composite airfoil manufacture of wind-turbine blades, and what causes them to fail, and videos on the difficulties of recycling the blades, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

So, is wind energy free? That doesn't even include the costs, financial and environmental, of disposing of wind-turbine blades, the mining of rare earth metals for permanent magnet generators, a market currently dominated by China, the epoxy and other compounds used to create the blades, etc.