Troubled wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa ditches plan for US blade site

Responding to questions from OWJ, the company issued a brief statement in which it said it had taken the decision “as development milestones to establish the facility could not be met.”

The company announced in October 2021 that it planned to build what would have been the first offshore wind turbine blade facility in the US.

Siemens Gamesa planned to develop more than 32 hectares of land at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal in Portsmouth, Virginia.

The facility would have undertaken finishing of Siemens Gamesa Offshore IntegralBlades. Approximately 260 jobs would have been created when the facility was fully operational.

The company had also entered a land lease agreement with Virginia Port Authority, supported by Virginia state incentives, for site improvements.

Siemens Gamesa has been experiencing significant problems for some time. In October 2023, parent company Siemens Energy confirmed it was in talks with the German government and other parties regarding its financial situation, talks which became necessary because of the troubled wind turbine OEM’s performance.

Siemens Energy said Siemens Gamesa continues to “work through quality issues and is addressing offshore ramp up challenges.” Siemens Energy further stated that for the time being, Siemens Gamesa is not concluding new contracts for certain onshore platforms and is applying “strict selectivity” in the offshore wind business.