Each turbine has a capacity of 7 MW and a rotor diameter of 154 metres and the 714 MW wind farm will be the largest project in terms of capacity for Siemens so far. Once it becomes operational in 2020, the facility will be able to provide power for around 500,000 British households.
The East Anglia ONE wind farm will be erected at a distance of around 45 kilometres off the east coast of the British Isles, covering an area of 300 square kilometres. The Siemens direct-drive wind turbines, of the type SWT-7.0-154 will be installed on jacket foundations. The nacelles will be manufactured in Cuxhaven, Germany while the blades will be produced at Siemens Hull facility. The port of Great Yarmouth will serve as a pre-assembly harbour for the project and the first turbines are expected to be installed in the summer of 2019 with commercial operation scheduled to begin in 2020.
“Siemens is delighted to work with ScottishPower Renewables on the East Anglia ONE offshore wind power plant” said Michael Hannibal, CEO Offshore of the Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division. “This represents the largest single order for our direct-drive, 7 MW wind turbine. The decision to go with our innovative wind turbines underscores the contribution made by these units to reducing the costs of offshore wind power.”
Siemens will also be responsible for servicing the wind farm for an initial period of five years, having also been awarded a long-term service agreement which includes remote monitoring and diagnostics services to help ensure the long-term reliability, performance and availability of the turbines. A helicopter based near Lowestoft port will assist with logistics, particularly in the winter when high wave conditions and rough seas prevent the use of crew transfer vessels (CTVs).
The contract represents the second offshore wind project to be agreed between Siemens and ScottishPower Renewables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola S.A., the company having previously supplied ScottishPower Renewables with 389 MW of wind turbines for the West of Duddon Sands project in the Irish Sea. Siemens has installed nearly 2,100 wind turbines to date with a total capacity of more than 7 GW. The company also has 6.7 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity under service contracts and plays an additional leading role in offshore grid connections.
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