General Electric Co. and Vestas Wind Systems A/S will go to court in 2019 over the companies' claims that one infringed on the other's wind turbine patents.
In July 2017, GE filed its initial lawsuit against Vestas and its U.S. subsidiary Vestas-American Wind Technology Inc., claiming Vestas used the industrial giant's patented technology to keep wind turbines connected to the grid during power outages. GE later added a second patent infringement claim to its suit, alleging Vestas infringed on a related GE patented technology for low-voltage events.
Vestas, a Denmark-based wind turbine maker, fired back at GE, adding its own claims that its rival had been trying to encourage the wind industry to adapt the technology to address sudden voltage drops with workshops that did not disclose its intellectual property holdings. It later filed counterclaims that GE violated Vestas' own technology patents that also maintain the turbine's connection to the grid and uses voltage surge protection.
A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California set the trial date for June 11, 2019, after GE and Vestas agreed on a pretrial and trial schedule. The trial is scheduled to last seven days, according to the court order.
Both parties have denied that they have infringed on the other company's patents.
![]() Companies' market share in the U.S. wind turbine industry could change dramatically depending on how much offshore wind grows. Associated Press |
"It is GE's view that the protection of intellectual property rights is the foundation for driving both innovation and investment in high-technology industries generally, and the associated creation of high-value jobs," GE Renewable Energy said in a March 9 email. "GE believes strongly in the merits of its case against Vestas and will continue to protect its technology in the U.S. and around the world."
A Vestas spokesperson said in a March 12 email that the company would not comment further, but it has said GE's patent infringement claims are "without merit" and it would fight them.
This is not the first time GE has sued another company for allegedly infringing on a technology patent for wind turbines. The company won a case against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Mitsubishi Power Systems for using similar turbine technology, and the court awarded it $166.8 million in lost profits and $3.4 million in royalty damages in 2012. The two companies settled in 2013.
Tensions in wind turbine market
The legal battle adds tensions to GE and Vestas' fierce competition for the growing U.S. wind market. In 2017, Vestas was No. 1 in U.S. market share for the second year in a row after it ended GE Renewable Energy's 13-year streak in 2016. The Danish company had 35% of the 7,017-MW domestic market, while GE had a 29% market share.
Worldwide, Vestas contributed to 15% of the 51.7 GW of added wind capacity in 2017, while GE added 9%, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. However, GE recently announced that it will spend $400 million on developing a 12-MW offshore wind turbine to debut by 2021, putting the company in an ideal position for emerging offshore wind markets such as the U.S. industry.

