The turbines are having trouble with their gearboxes again. (CBC)

Two of the turbines at P.E.I.'s $47-million wind farm in East Point are under repairs for the second time in just over a year.

The V-90 turbines — named for their 90-metre blade span — are having problems with their gear boxes, the same thing that took them down last spring. Wayne MacQuarrie, CEO of the P.E.I. Energy Corporation, told CBC News Wednesday that during recent inspections workers noticed a couple of the gearboxes were showing signs of "undue wear and tear."

The turbines are under warrantee, so the repairs will not cost the province anything, and it is being paid for lost power generation. MacQuarrie said Vestas, the manufacturer of the turbines, is still refining the gearboxes.

"I think at that time they knew that wasn't the silver bullet, if you will," he said.

"They've made improvements and my understanding is we are getting the latest, new and improved gearboxes on these machines."

Troubles were first noticed in six of the turbines last year, and the company ended up replacing all the gearboxes, a process that took six months.

Government pays Vestas $1 million a year for its warranty. In addition to the repair work last year, MacQuarrie said the province received more than half a million dollars for the time the turbines were down last year. He would not say exactly how much for competitive reasons.

That the turbines need repairs again just over a year later does not concern him.

"It's obviously in Vestas' best interest to find the problem here and come up with a fix," said MacQuarrie.

"Let's remember the V-90 wind farm at East Point was the first V-90 wind farm in Canada. It's not unreasonable to expect that there's going to be growing pains, and in fact that's exactly the reason we went out for a five-year agreement."

MacQuarrie expects the two turbines to be up and running again within weeks.