Siemens set to lose $1 billion on wind division as faulty components undermine profitability

Siemens Energy has announced that it will likely be unable to make a profit this year due to a projected $1.1 billion loss in its wind turbine division, called Siemens Gamesa, stemming from faulty turbine components, according to a report from Reuters.

In a recent press conference, Jochen Eickholt, the chief executive of Siemens Gamesa, conveyed his shock at the extent of quality issues with components in its onshore wind turbines.

Eickholt said that a review of the Siemens Gamesa wind turbine fleet begun earlier this year had exposed more problems with turbine components than first thought, specifically referring to bearings and rotor blades and “legacy turbines.” He said: “The result of the current review will be much worse than even I would have thought possible.

The faulty turbines will have large implications for the global wind fleet, as Siemens is a major manufacturer of onshore and offshore wind turbines. As of the end of April 2023, Siemens had installed more than 132 gigawatts (GW) of wind turbines, with 108 GW onshore and 22 GW offshore, constituting about 14.5 percent of the global installed wind turbine capacity.

Siemens is working to identify the entire scope of the problem and will spend the next several years attempting to rectify them.