Together with its partner DONG Energy, Siemens has at the same time pulled off a double pioneering feat: with the very first deployment of the new installation vessel, two Siemens wind turbines of the six-megawatt class complete with rotor star were installed in the record time of under 24 hours each in the offshore demonstration project Gunfleet Sands III.
In the Gunfleet Sands III demonstration project the two 6-MW machines will be thoroughly tested offshore starting immediately.
Siemens is working on the assumption that this wind turbine type with a capacity of six megawatts will become the new standard in the offshore wind industry. Each turbine can supply up to 6,000 European homes with clean electricity. The crew of the SEA INSTALLER is already preparing for the next task as it sets sail for the Danish Anholt offshore wind power plant of DONG Energy.
Today, offshore wind power is already a well established component of the power supply mix in northern Europe. There are open areas off the coasts here with excellent wind conditions offering enormous potential. Wind turbines with a generating capacity of 4.3 gigawatts are already installed in this region.
In order to further reduce the costs for offshore wind power, innovations and industrialization are vital. Siemens has designed the gearless wind turbine with a capacity of six megawatts especially for offshore deployment. Since 2010, the company has also held a 49 percent stake in A2SEA which provides services for the construction of offshore wind power plants. A2SEA, in which DONG Energy holds the remaining shares, has now deployed a new generation of offshore installation vessels for the first time off the British coast.
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Press release, January 30, 2013; Image: Siemens