May 20 2009
Siemens Energy will supply 175 SWT-3.6 turbines to the London Array offshore wind project, which is owned by DONG Energy, E.ON and Masdar. Upon completion, the London Array project will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world with a capacity of 630 megawatts (MW). There is also an option to further expand the wind farm up to 1,000 MW in the future.
London Array is set to become the first 1-Gigawatt offshore wind farm, supplying enough power for approximately 750,000 homes – or a quarter of Greater London homes - and displace 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
The wind farm will be located approximately 20 km off the coast of Kent and Essex in the Outer Thames Estuary. The project forms part of the UK’s second round group of offshore projects. The wind turbines that Siemens will deliver under the supply agreement, which Siemens has signed with DONG Energy, have a capacity of 3.6 MW each.
“The outlook for the offshore market is positive,“ said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of Siemens Energy Sector. Siemens is already installing wind turbines this year at five offshore wind farms in Great Britain and Denmark. “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. In addition to the London Array offshore project, Siemens expects that more offshore projects will be commissioned in the near future,“ added Dehen. With an installed offshore capacity of more than 600 MW and an order backlog totaling more than 3,300 MW, Siemens is the leading supplier of wind turbines for offshore applications.
The Siemens scope of supply includes delivery, installation and commissioning of the 175 wind turbines, including a five-year service agreement, which will see the company being responsible for servicing the offshore farm to ensure the turbines keep running effectively. The turbines will be produced in Denmark and are expected to be shipped to the site for installation in 2011 and 2012. The turbines will be installed in water depths of up to 23 meters and the site has an average wind speed of 9.2 meters per second. The wind turbine foundations and the grid connection are expected to be completed in 2011.
Wind power is an important part of Siemens’ environmental portfolio. In 2008, revenue from the products and solutions in the Siemens’ environmental portfolio was nearly EUR19 billion, which is equivalent to approximately a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue.