SGRE lines up first 14MW orders for more than 4GW

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has won its first provisional orders for its new 14MW turbine unveiled in May, with tentative agreements for projects off the coasts of Taiwan, the United States and the UK.

by Craig Richard 22 June 2020

Siemens Gamesa new SG 14-222 DD turbines can reach power output of 15MW and features 108-metre blades offering a record 222-metre rotor diameter

This story was first published on 26 May 2020, following conditional orders with Northland Power and Yushan Energy, and Dominion Energy It was updated on 22 June when SGRE received another conditional order from Innogy.

The Spanish manufacturer signed a preferred supplier agreement with developers Northland Power and Yushan Energy to deploy the new SG 14-222 DD turbine at the 294MW Hai Long 2A project off Taiwan.

It has also amended a previously signed preferred supplier agreement with utility Dominion Energy to deploy the turbine at the 2640MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off the US east coast.

Siemens Gamesa also received a conditional order to supply 100 units of its SG 14-222 DD at Innogy's 1.4GW Sofia wind farm off the north-east coast of England.

All the deals - for a combined 4.3GW - are subject to final investment decisions by the developers, while Dominion also needs governmental permitting before it can fully commit to the order. 

SGRE is also in talks to supply the turbine model for the rest of Northland and Yushan's 3,044MW Hai Long pipeline.

It plans to make the turbines for Hai Long in Taiwan and then leverage this manufacturing footprint to expand in Asia-Pacific. Orders, both confirmed and provisional, are in place to supply projects in Taiwan,ÌýChina,ÌýJapan, and Vietnam.

Nacelle production is scheduled to begin at SGRE's Taichung harbour facility in 2024, with installation and commissioning following later that year. 

SGRE also has agreements in place with local suppliers for towers and blade resin.

The manufacturer also plans to build the turbines for CVOW locally and is working with local stakeholders to investigate a potential blade manufacturing facility in the US. 

This could potentially be the first facility custom-built to manufacture components for the SG 14-222 DD, the manufacturer stated.

It expects to make decisions on sourcing and supply chain to serve the US market "within the next year", it added.

The developers of the Taiwanese and US projects are yet to decide on the exact number of SG 14-222 DD turbines, which can reach 15MW with a power boost feature engaged under specific operating conditions.

Northland Power and Yushan Energy were awarded the 300MW project in the first tender under Taiwan’s grid allocation mechanism in 2018, and then the 744MW remainder of the Hai Long pipeline in a subsequent allocation.

Taiwan’s government is deciding on an auction schedule to award a further 10GW of offshore wind capacity that it aims to have commissioned between 2026 and 2035.

Meanwhile, Dominion is due to submit a permit application for the CVOW commercial project later this year.

It filed an application with regional transmission company PJM in September 2019 to interconnect the three-phase project to the grid and plans to start ocean survey work next year and submit a construction and operations plan by 2022.

Siemens Gamesa is also supplying two 6MW turbines for Dominion's 12MW CVOW pilot project, which is expected online later this year.

Sofia developer Innogy secured a power deal for its 1.4GW project in the UK's most recent contract for difference tender in September 2019.

Siemens Gamesa has not decided on where it will make the turbines for Sofia. However, an SGRE spokesman advised that Hull - where the manufacturer has a factory currently capable of producing 81-metre blades - was a likely contender.