Suzlon Energy Ltd (SEL), the third-largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, today said it had completed its global programme to reinforce all blades of its V2 type which had been found to have a manufacturing defect.
Instances of blade cracks were first discovered in late 2007 during the operation of some of Suzlon’s S88 wind turbines in the United States. Cracks were detected in 170 of the 1,250 blades of 400 turbines of the S88, V2 model supplied by Suzlon to two of its major clients in the US - Edison International and John Deere.
Suzlon had retrofitted blades for around five clients in the US, Portugal and Brazil, spending around Rs 120 crore. The company abandoned sale of these V2 blades and moved to V3 new generation blades in early 2008.
Suzlon said a comprehensive retrofit operation to safeguard and enhance 1,251 (or 417 sets) of S88-V2 blades around the world were done at a cost of $100 million.
“This project has been a priority effort for us, and our technology and project teams have worked hard to complete this project within the shortest possible time. After receiving the first report of cracks in the S88-V2 blades, we immediately undertook a root cause analysis to identify the problem, devise a solution, and resolve the issue in a timely and cost-effective manner,” said Andy Cukurs, chief executive officer of Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation. The company said it had engaged Navigant Consulting, a leading international consulting firm, to conduct an extensive Root Cause Analysis.