Siemens Energy, the owner of wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa, has set up an internal task force and a supervisory board committee to look into the quality issues with its wind turbines that have led to a drop in share prices, Reuters reported.
The probe is expected to address the reasons for Siemens Energy management’s failure to spot the issue during its due diligence process before the recent takeover of Siemens Gamesa.
Both the internal task force and the supervisory board committee are expected to receive support from external advisors to determine the full impact of the issue, which covers both quality and a potential flaw in the design of the turbines.
Investigations have so far shown that issues are limited to Siemens Gamesa’s 4.X and 5.X onshore wind turbine platforms.
It is feared that concerns over the turbines will slow down Siemens Energy’s efforts for a turnaround of its subsidiary.
The company estimates a cost of more than €1bn ($1.1bn) to resolve the issues with the wind turbines, which are complex machines with hundreds of moving parts.
The exact number of turbines in need of repairs is still unknown. Almost 800 5.X turbines, 100 of which have already been installed, are estimated to have been affected by the issue.
The supervisory board committee will provide support and oversight for the work of the task force.
Siemens Energy’s buy-out of loss-making turbine builder Siemens Gamesa began in May 2022, when the parent company launched a €4.05bn offer to take over the remaining third of the shares.
