Faulty turbines deepen losses at Clipper Windpower

Losses widened to $313.3 million at Clipper Windpower in 2008, as the wind turbine maker was forced to spend $300 million over two years fixing faults.

The Carpinteri, California-based firm has also reduced its head count and said it will continue to be affected by the credit crunch in 2009, as difficulty securing financing forced some customers to defer or reduce turbine orders.

In its annual results, the US manufacturer said revenues grew to $737.3 million in 2008, from $23.8 million in 2007, as it increased sales of its 2.5MW Liberty turbines to 248 last year, from only nine in 2007.

But it reported a net loss of $313.3 million, compared to a net loss of $192.5 million in 2007.

This was largely down to a remediation programme to correct faults, including defects identified in drivetrains and blades in 2007, and faults detected in 2008 with the blade skins of its Liberty turbines. By October 2008, the manufacturing process was changed to prevent the faults occurring, but Clipper said it spent $300 million fixing problems in 2007 and 2008, contributing to higher losses last year.

“These remediation programs, while common in the early stages of deployment and operational shakedown of wind turbines, have been very expensive and disruptive to the group’s operations,” said Clipper’s CEO and president Doug Pertz and chairman James Dehlsen, in a joint statement.

“Clipper has worked with its customers in a straightforward, open manner to develop agreed solutions, and has thus earned their confidence in Clipper as a trusted supplier,” they added.

Meanwhile, Clipper warned that the credit crunch will continue to impact its business in 2009, saying that it “expects continued dislocation of the debt markets resulting in a continued unfavourable impact on our current customers and the wind market”. It cut 90 jobs in early 2009, reducing its workforce by 11%.

But the company is eyeing prospects arising from the US government's clean energy push. Pertz said: “We are aggressively meeting the challenges presented by the current difficult market conditions, while ensuring we retain the flexibility to scale up the business when growth returns. The Obama administration has set a goal of doubling US wind generating capacity within three years and has approved legislation to support technologies essential to accelerating wind deployment.”