Engineering news
Siemens has received the first order of its 7MW offshore wind turbines which will be deployed in the Irish Sea.
The company is to supply, install and commission 47 direct drive wind turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 154 meters in the Walney Extension East project, giving the project a total capacity of 330MW.
The offshore wind turbine deal is with DONG Energy and is part of the frame agreement concluded between the two companies in 2012. Upon completion — which is expected for some time at the beginning of 2018 — the Walney Extension East will generate the equivalent electricity enough to provide for 230,000 British homes. Service for the plant will be provided jointly by Siemens and DONG Energy for a period of five years.
Walney Extension East will be erected off the British west coast in the Irish Sea, approximately 19 kilometers from shore. Installation of the turbines is expected to start at the beginning of 2018. The project is situated next to the Walney 1 and 2 offshore wind power plants, each equipped with 51 Siemens wind turbines with an output of 3.6 megawatts each. The Siemens SWT-7.0-154 Offshore wind turbine is currently being tested in Osterild, Denmark.
The company, which is currently investing 160 million British pounds in setting up a rotor blade manufacturing facility in Hull, has already installed more than 5.8GW of offshore wind power capacity worldwide. The new site is expected to generate not only approximately 1,000 direct local jobs for Siemens but also create jobs throughout the supply chain supporting the development of a clean energy industry in the UK.
The move is part of Siemens' drive towards developing bigger and more efficient wind turbines. Last month, chief executive of Offshore for Siemens' Wind Power and Renewables Division, Michael Hannibal, explained how the new Siemens facility in Germany, designed to produce the 7 MW flagship turbine, will at some point switch to manufacturing a 10 MW turbine.
He said: “This marks the first order for the innovative Siemens 7 megawatt wind turbine. We introduced this upgraded version of our proven 6 MW model into the market only last March, and today we are proud to announce that DONG Energy has chosen our new flagship offshore turbine. Our 7 MW turbine will leverage the energy output of the Walney Extension East Offshore Wind Farm and contribute significantly to lowering the cost of offshore wind power.”