Vattenfall Signs Largest Offshore Turbine Order for Three Projects

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The largest offshore wind turbine order of 2017 has been placed by Swedish energy major Vattenfall (Stockholm) with newly formed Siemens-Gamesa (Madrid, Spain).

The company has ordered 113 turbines rated at 8 megawatts (MW) for three offshore windfarms in Denmark: Kriegers Flak in the Baltic Sea and Vesterhav Syd and Nord in the North Sea. The projects will have a combined generating capacity of close to 1,000 MW and will cost an estimated 1.7 billion euro ($2 billion) to construct. The windfarms will have the ability to supply approximately 1 million Danish households with power. The deal covers the design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, testing and service of the turbines, Vattenfall confirmed.

"The deal is a further proof point of Vattenfall's firm commitment towards a fossil-free future and climate-smarter living," said Gunnar Groebler, head of Vattenfall Wind and member of the Executive Group Management. "The investment in this state-of-the-art technology for our modern windfarms contributes significantly to our goal of building more renewable energy according to our strategy."

Denmark leads Europe in wind power generation, getting more than 40% of its electricity from wind. Last November, Vattenfall beat rivals by submitting the lowest bid to secure the 600-MW Kriegers Flak offshore windfarm contract from Denmark's government. It is the largest Nordic offshore wind project and will use 72 of the Siemens Gamesa turbines. For additional information, see November 14, 2016, article - Vattenfall Blows Rivals Away for Largest Nordic Windfarm.

Just weeks later, the company was cleared to build a couple of controversial near-shore offshore windfarms, Vesterhav Syd and Vesterhav Nord, with a combined generating capacity of up to 350 MW. Those projects will use 41 turbines. For additional information, see November 23, 2016, article - Vattenfall Cleared to Build Contentious Near Shore Windfarms in Denmark.

When Vattenfall won the tenders for the Kriegers Flak and Vesterhav Syd and Nord windfarms in 2016, they were won with world-record low prices of 0.050 euro ($0.06) per kilowatt hour (kWh) and 0.061 euro/ kWh ($0.072), respectively. The deal also comes at a critical time for the newly formed Siemens-Gamesa. Earlier this month, Industrial Info reported that the company is planning to cut 6,000 jobs worldwide--20% of its workforce--in a effort to become more competitive. For additional information, see November 20, 2017, article - Siemens Gamesa Axing 6,000 Jobs as Wind Sales Dip.

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