Siemens Energy is continuing to boost its profile in the offshore wind energy sector, winning contracts for key projects in the UK and Germany.
The German engineering firm has signed an agreement with Airtricity to supply 80 wind turbines for the Butendiek offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. It has also announced that it is to provide the wind turbines for the first phase of the UK’s London Array offshore wind farm, the world’s largest offshore wind power project.
The Butendiek project is located 34 km off the island of Sylt. It will consist of eighty Siemens SWT-3.6 MW-107 wind turbines and is due to be commissioned in 2012.
For the London Array project, which will eventually have a capacity of 1000 MW, Siemens will supply a total of 175 SWT-3.6 turbines. The first, 630 MW phase of the project is due to be operational in 2012.
The three partners developing the London Array project – Masdar, E.On and Dong Energy – recently announced their intention to go ahead with the project following the UK government’s decision to increase the level of support for offshore wind power. The wind farm will be located around 20 km off the coast of southeast England and forms a key part of the UK’s plans to increase renewable energy generation.
“The outlook for the offshore market is positive,” said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of Siemens Energy Sector. “By improving the political framework, the UK government has laid the foundation for the continued expansion and investment in offshore wind energy. Projects are now more profitable and hence more attractive for investors.”
Siemens is expanding its global manufacturing network for wind turbine plants, building new production facilities in the US and China. It has also established a new European headquarters for wind power sales and project execution in Hamburg, Germany.
Siemens is planning to invest more than EUR60 million in a new rotor blade and nacelle plant in Shanghai that is scheduled to start operating in late 2010. The facility will produce equipment for the Chinese market as well as for export.
"China could soon become the largest wind energy market in the world and with our new production facility in Shanghai we are establishing an excellent starting position for meeting the growing demand of this exciting market,” said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy Sector and member of the managing board of Siemens AG. “In addition, we are also rigorously advancing the internationalization of our manufacturing network for wind turbines to optimally meet the needs of our customers in Asia, Europe and America.”
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