Siemens Energy will supply 175 SWT-3.6-107 turbines to the London Array offshore wind project, which is owned by DONG Energy, E.ON and MasdarUpon 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.