TRIG finds signs of fatigue on Merkur turbines

The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) said on Monday that routine inspections at Merkur had identified signs of stress fatigue on certain areas of the support structure of the Helihoist on some of the 6MW wind turbines.

It said generation at the wind farm was paused as a “precautionary safety measure” while the root cause was being investigated.

The FTSE 250 company said the turbines were under warranty and service contract with the manufacturer.

Contractual provisions included a mechanism to protect lost revenue while the turbines were not operational, subject to a cap.

“It is not currently expected that the cap will be exceeded and therefore no material financial impact is expected to the company,” the board said in its statement.

“The first batches of turbines have now been brought back online, in consultation with the authorities.

“The project's dedicated asset management team, with support from the company's managers, is working closely with the manufacturer to identify and put in place a solution that will allow the wind farm to resume operating safely and effectively for the long term.”0

Merkur constitutes 6% of TRIG's portfolio value on a committed basis, and is the only site in the portfolio which uses the particular turbine model.

The company owns a 25% interest in the 396MW wind farm in the German North Sea, acquired in 2019 shortly after it was commissioned.

“The company will provide a further update when it is available and expects to be in a position to do this in the interim results which will be published in early August.”

At 0820 BST, shares in the Renewables Infrastructure Group were down 0.17% at 127.18p.