Siemens to supply turbines to £2 bn East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm

UK based ScottishPower Renewables has chosen Siemens to supply turbines for its £2bn East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm located off Britain’s east coast.

Siemens will supply 102 units of its 7MW turbines for the project owned by ScottishPower and Iberdrola.

Construction on the Wind farm is expected to commence in 2017 with operation scheduled to start in 2020.

The project is expected to create around 3,000 jobs in the region with more than half supporting the turbine contract.

According to ScottishPower Renewables, the power generated by the project will be enough to meet the needs of around 500,000 homes.

ScottishPower Renewables also added that most of the components and services associated with the project will be manufactured in the UK including the turbine blades, which will be manufactured at Siemens’ Hull factory in the UK.

Siemens’ Hull facility is located at the £160m compound which is set to open its doors in 2017, reported Reuters.

ScottishPower Renewables said that it is delivering electricity at cheaper rate of £119/MWh compared with £140-£150/MWh at other offshore wind projects.

The company uses advanced technology, such as larger and more efficient turbines to deliver electricity at cheaper rate.

Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division Offshore CEO Michael Hannibal said: "Our advanced model of our proven Direct Drive wind turbine with an output of 7 MW will leverage the energy output of East Anglia One Offshore Wind Farm and contribute to lowering the cost of electricity.

"We will manufacture the wind turbine blades for East Anglia One at our new factory in Hull and work with ScottishPower to further promote the growth of the UK offshore industry."

ScottishPower Renewables CEO Keith Anderson said: "East Anglia ONE will be the most cost effective offshore windfarm ever delivered. Selecting the turbine supplier will be the single largest agreement for East Anglia ONE, and the most significant in terms of achieving important cost reduction goals.

"We are confident that we have selected the most efficient offshore wind turbines in the world, and we look forward to working with Siemens to deliver a successful project."

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Image: Siemens will supply 102 units of turbines for the East Anglia One offshore wind farm project. Photo: courtesy of Scottish Power Ltd.