Siemens seals 582MW German offshore deal

GERMANY: Siemens has won an order to supply turbines with a total capacity of 582MW to Dong Energy for use on its Gode Wind 1 and 2 projects in the German North Sea.

by Patrick Smith 18 November 2013

The Siemens 6MW turbines are due to be commissioned in 2016

The manufacturer will install 97 SWT-6.0-154 turbines 45 kilometres off the German coast near the island of Juist. This is the first time this model has been chosen for a German project.

The news came as Dong gave the final go-ahead for the projects by approving the EUR 2.2 billion needed to construct the wind farms.

There had been doubts surrounding the projects, with the uncertainty concerning the German government's policy towards offshore wind threatening their development.

But Dong struck a positive note, with executive vice-president Samuel Leupold commenting: "We remain hopeful that the new German government will soon announce a viable support framework for the period post-2017.

"For an industry with project lifecycles of 30 years it is critically important to obtain visibility beyond 2017 in order to continue to innovate and mature the technology, bring down production costs, and make a substantial contribution to the German Energiewende."

Construction of both projects is expected to begin in the first half of 2015, with commissioning due in the second half of 2016. Siemens will install the turbines and provide servicing for five years.