Seaforth Problems with Turbines

A Canadian (Nova Scotia) Dartmouth wind turbine maker, Seaforth Energy Inc, that’s already more than $4 million in debt, has also had recent trouble with the quality of some of its products. The company won an order to provide and install 14 wind turbines in its native Nova Scotia. They all carry a five-year warranty.

download1 Seaforth Problems with Turbines

A document filed with Industry Canada (as part of Seaforth’s wish for creditor protection) stated:

“The company has been notified of warranty issues for several of the units.” 

Mike Morris centre1 Seaforth Problems with Turbines

Michael Morris (center in the picture above) gave a projected cash flow that indicated “warranty work” that was expected to cost the company $36,238 in July. It is believed to be an issue with the turbines’ generator bolts but this was not confirmed or denied by Seaforth. 

David Stevenson  300x2041 Seaforth Problems with Turbines

David Stevenson, president of Colchester-Cumberland Wind Field Inc, pictured above, said in an interview Wednesday:

“They came with a coat of paint where the blades would fasten on … and as a result of the paint being there, it changed the tension on the bolts, so we had to take the blades off and clean that paint off.”

The problem was discovered sometime in the winter, but the wind field company decided to put off repairs until the tough weather conditions had completely passed. Stevenson admitted that it was a particularly and unpredictably harsh winter that had affected a number of wind field operators. Stevenson added that this meant the two Seaforth-built AOC 15-50 turbines, which went into operation in March 2013, were shut down for about three months until spring when, he said, the bolt issue was fixed and Seaforth did a series of modifications to the turbines that improved performance. He added that he didn’t know how much the shutdown, caused by both the bolt issue and the weather, had hurt the company’s finances and viability. All he would say was:

“It certainly was a cost. It was a loss of production but it was a decision not to try to produce when the conditions may have caused more harm. So prudence, in this case, plays in our favor even though it required that we miss some production.”

It seems from talking to other installations using this type of turbine, that Seaforth did some precautionary work by replacing the bolts. However, since then, Endurance Wind Power Inc. has taken over-servicing. The company is in negotiations to buy Seaforth, which now has until Sept. 26 this year to make a proposal to creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. A purchase agreement “is close to being signed,” David Boyd of PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. says in an affidavit filed July 28 in Nova Scotia Supreme Court. If the court approves the sale of assets to Endurance Wind Power Inc. it might allow for the highest recovery to the creditors of the company.

Seaforth had to lay off its entire staff, is finishing up three projects. The AOC 15/50 wind turbine was described as their flagship project. It had been field-tested around the world for more than 20 years, has the world’s largest installed fleet and the most operating years in the 50kW wind class.

It’s a shame that a smaller manufacturer of (usually) quality turbines has gone under.