Siemens Bags 157-Turbine Order for Wind Power Projects in South Africa

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) confirmed another large wind-power contract with a 157-turbine order for projects in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

The 2.3-megawatt (MW) turbines will be installed on the Siemens G2 platform at the Khobab, Loeriesfontein 2 and Noupoort windfarms. The order was placed by a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power (Dublin, Ireland), which already has commissioned the Jeffrey's Bay windfarm on the Indian Ocean coast. The new contract covers a 10-year service and maintenance agreement.

The three windfarms will have a combined generating capacity of 360 MW. The 140-MW Khobab and the 140-MW Loeriesfontein 2 windfarms are both located in the Namakwa district municipality, and the 80-MW Noupoort windfarm is sited in Umsobomvu local municipality, 40 kilometers north of Port Elizabeth.

All the projects will be equipped with Siemens-2.3-108 turbines, with a rotor diameter of 108 meters, and towers with a hub height of 99.5 meters. Turbine installation will start in August 2015 and will be commissioned between early 2016 and the end of 2017.

"We are pleased to be working as partner again in major projects with Mainstream Renewable Power," Siemens said in a statement. "This order also clearly demonstrates that, with its Renewable Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPP), South Africa is on a successful path for achieving the government's stated goal of installing 3,725 MW of renewable energy capacity."

Wind power and energy service are part of Siemens' environmental portfolio. About 46% of the company's total revenue comes from green products and solutions.

For related information, see February 8, 2013, article - South Africa's Renewables Program Rolls Out 136-Megawatt Jeffreys Bay Windfarm, and November 20, 2012, article - Siemens Turns to African Market with Solar and Wind Contracts for Mainstream Renewable Power.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.