Siemens Gamesa CEO Jochen Eickholt is shocked of the sheer scope of problems currently facing the company’s onshore wind turbine business, he tells Recharge News.

Last Friday, parent company Siemens Energy scrapped profits forecast when extensive technical reviews showed widespread failure rate issues on the company’s onshore turbine components. 

”The result of the current review will be much worse than even I would have thought possible,” Eickholt says to Recharge News.

”I’ve said on numerous occasions that there is nothing at Siemens Gamesa I haven’t seen elsewhere. I would not repeat that today. This is a disappointing, bitter setback.”

The German-Spanish OEM expects to use more than EUR 1bn on improving product quality.

”The failure rate issues go far beyond what has been known to us, especially within the onshore wind segment.”

”There are new flaws,” explains Eickholt, stressing that a turnaround is sure to take longer than expected.