General Electric (GE) is to sue Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Ltd, the UK arm of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), over patent infringement claims for certain wind turbines in the UK.

In a statement, the company said: “GE filed suit against Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Limited in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales raising claims of patent infringement.

“The infringement action involves the UK part of EP 1 590 567 and certain offshore wind turbines.”

SGRE commented: “The claim alleges infringement of the UK counterpart of the patent already asserted in the German and US International Trade Commission proceedings filed July 2020.

“Siemens Gamesa will be defending itself against any of the lawsuits and is confident that features and functionalities marketed by Siemens Gamesa do not infringe any valid third parties’ intellectual property rights.

“Siemens Gamesa is confident that the lawsuits won’t delay or interfere with any current and future Siemens Gamesa projects.”

According to an analysis by the renewable energy market research firm IntelStor, patent infringements in the wind energy sector have threatened a total of $5.2 billion (£3.8bn) in commercial value since 1995.