The breakdown in September of a prototype of Vestas' heavily marketed V112-3.0MW turbine brought into sharp relief just how high the stakes are for an industry trying to improve the reliability of the next generation of supersize models.
Vestas - and experts at Norwegian classification body DNV - say human error was behind the incident, where "wrinkled carbon" in one of the blade tips led to a seven-metre portion snapping off in mid-rotation during trials at the company's testing centre in Lem, Denmark.
