Siemens selected for East Anglia ONE

Company will supply up to 102 of its 7MW Direct Drive turbines

Siemens has been named as the preferred turbine supplier for the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm, in the biggest deal ever concluded for a consented project in the UK’s wind energy sector.

The agreement, which will be the largest individual contract placed as part of the £2 billion project, will see Siemens supply up to 102 of its 7MW Direct Drive turbines. Siemens will use their new facility in Hull for manufacturing the turbine blades for this project.

East Anglia ONE aims to create around 3,000 jobs in total, with up to half of these jobs supporting the turbine contract.

Michael Hannibal, chief executive offshore of Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division, said: “We are pleased that ScottishPower Renewables has selected Siemens for this project. Our advanced model of our proven Direct Drive wind turbine with an output of 7MW will leverage the energy output of East Anglia One Offshore Wind Farm and contribute to lowering the cost of electricity.”

ScottishPower Renewables is delivering a large cut in the cost of offshore wind power through East Anglia ONE, with a cost of electricity set at £119/MWh after a successful bid in the competitive UK government auction held earlier this year for a Contract for Difference (CfD). This has been made possible by ScottishPower’s use of advanced technology, such as larger and more efficient turbines, and compares with £140-£150/MWh at other offshore wind projects awarded CfD contracts during 2014.

ScottishPower Renewables aims to start construction in 2017, with the first turbines installed by 2019 and the project fully operational during 2020.

ScottishPower Renewables and Siemens previously worked together on the 389MW West of Duddon Sands Offshore Windfarm in the Irish Sea. West of Duddon Sands was supported by bespoke port facilities at Belfast Harbour, where £50 million was invested in upgrading port facilities, and utilised two of the world’s largest specially-designed installation vessels.