Faulty wind turbines become a costly problem

Rough ride: People kite surf near a Siemens Gamesa wind turbine in Spain. The root of the company’s problems stems from frequent breakdowns of its new turbines.— Reuters

THE history of Siemens is the history of electricity. After Werner von Siemens set up shop in a Berlin workshop in 1847, his improved design for the electric telegraph won him the contract to build Europe’s first long-distance cable.

His company became an industrial behemoth, making everything from light bulbs to giant turbines for power stations.