Hamburg, 2015-Oct-30
- 56 wind turbines of the six-megawatt class for the Galloper project
- Siemens Financial Services to hold 25 percent of the total equity in Galloper
Wind Farm Ltd. - Output of 336 megawatts to supply up to 336,000 British households
- Long-term maintenance contract
Wind turbines of type SWT-6.0-154 for the Galloper project
"We are pleased that Siemens will again be supplying the six megawatt wind
turbines for an offshore wind power plant in the UK,” said Michael Hannibal, CEO
Offshore of the Wind Power and Renewables Division of Siemens AG. So far, the
company has already sold about 300 of its SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines to UK and
German projects. "We are working hard on making the cost of power from offshore
wind power plants competitive with other ways of generating electricity," Hannibal
added.
The company is working on various levers to reduce the cost of offshore wind power
still further. As early as 2020, Siemens aims to have technologies available that will
make it possible to generate electric power at a cost of less than 10 Euro cents per
kilowatt hour. Improvements will be made not only to the wind turbines themselves;
the company is also focusing on innovations in connecting the offshore installations
to the grid and in servicing.
Siemens is due to start installing the 56 SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines for the Galloper
project in May 2017. The wind power plant is scheduled to be fully operational by
March 2018. Prompt completion is necessary so that the offshore project can still
qualify for remuneration with ROC (Renewable Obligations Certificates) of the 2.5
round for public tenders.
Siemens Financial Services contributed to securing the Siemens bid by providing
25 percent of the total project equity, as well as supporting RWE with development
funding in the period up to financial close. “The speed in which we achieved financial
close, which included securing debt investments from a club of commercial lenders,
is testament to the market’s appetite for well-structured offshore wind investments
and its confidence in Siemens’ technical and financial expertise in this sector,”
commented Kirk Edelman, Head of Energy Finance at Siemens Financial Services.
The Galloper offshore wind power plant is to be erected around 27 kilometers off the
coast of Suffolk. The wind turbines will be constructed on monopiles in water between
27 and 36 meters deep.
Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy said: “Today’s announcement is the culmination
of many months of successful negotiations with our partners and investors and
shows that the UK remains a strong market for offshore renewables. We are
delighted that Siemens, as well as becoming a project partner will also, through
their technical division, support key aspects of the project including turbines,
turbine installation and maintenance support. I look forward to working together
with our partners to utilise our collective experience and expertise to realise the
successful construction of Galloper wind farm.”
The Galloper project is an extension of the already on-line Greater Gabbard offshore
wind farm, which has a capacity of 504 megawatts, where 140 Siemens wind turbines
have been generating power for 530,000 British households since 2012.
Siemens has already erected an offshore capacity of more than 5.8 gigawatts worldwide,
with two gigawatts commissioned in the last fiscal year alone. The UK is one of the
major offshore markets. Siemens employs about 2,000 people across various sites
in Britain in the wind business, grid connections and wind service operations. The
Galloper project is set to create around 700 jobs during construction and 90 jobs
once operational in the UK. It also represents a crucial milestone in the creation of
a UK-based offshore wind manufacturing industry, begun with a 160 million pounds
investment from Siemens in setting up a rotor blade manufacturing in Hull and
continuing through job creation both by Siemens and the supply chain developing
to support the clean energy industry.
Wind turbines of type SWT-6.0-154 for the Galloper project
Siemens will supply, install and commission 56 wind turbines of type SWT-6.0-154
at the wind power plant Galloper off the British coast. The picture shows the
SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines at Westermost Rough, the first large-scale commercial
project equipped with this machine.
This press release and a press picture are available at: www.siemens.com/press/PR2015100046WPEN
For further information on Division Wind Power and Renewables, please see: www.siemens.com/wind
For further information on Siemens Financial Services, please see: www.siemens.com/finance
Contact for journalists
Guy Dorrell
Phone: +44 7808 823177; E-mail: guy.dorrell@siemens.com
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Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2014, which ended on September 30, 2014, Siemens generated revenue from continuing operations of €71.9 billion and net income of €5.5 billion. At the end of September 2014, the company had around 343,000 employees worldwide on a continuing basis. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
