Siemens turbines to drive London Array
Siemens Energy will supply 175 of its SWT-3.6 turbines for the London Array offshore wind project, which is being developed 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. There is also an option to further expand the wind farm in the future, which would make it the world’s first 1-gigawatt offshore wind farm. At that capacity, the installation would supply enough power for approximately 750,000 homes — or a quarter of Greater London homes — and displace 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
The wind farm will be located about 20 kilometres 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 with DONG Energy have a capacity of 3.6 megawatts each.
Siemens is already installing wind turbines this year at five offshore wind farms in Great Britain and Denmark.
“The outlook for the offshore market is positive,” said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of Siemens Energy Sector. “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.”
In all, Siemens has an installed offshore capacity of more than 600 megawatts, with an order backlog of more than 3,300 megawatts.
The London Array 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 metres and the site has an average wind speed of 9.2 metres per second. The wind turbine foundations and the grid connection are expected to be completed in 2011.
