Turbine issue halts ops of Germany's Merkur offshore wind park

The 396-MW Merkur wind farm in German waters has temporarily ceased operations after “signs of stress fatigue” were discovered on some of the equipment and a thorough examination had to be undertaken.

The Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd (LON:TRIG), which owns the wind farm together with Dutch pension fund APG, said in an update on Monday that the signs of stress fatigue were identified in certain areas of the support structure of the helihoist platform on some of the 6-MW turbines powering the wind farm. The root cause for the issue is being investigated, while the first batches of turbines have already been brought back online.

TRIG noted it will not face any financial burden as the turbines are under warranty and an agreement is in place with the turbine manufacturer that enables the owners to be compensated for lost revenue, subject to a cap. It is not expected that the cap will be exceeded, the company added.

Located some 35 km (22 miles) north of the island of Borkum, in the German North Sea, the Merkur wind farm uses 66 GE Haliade-150 6-MW offshore wind turbines that were brought online in June 2019. At present, TRIG owns a 25% stake in Merkur.

An update on the wind farm’s operations is to be made in early August, along with TRIG’s interim financial report.

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