Siemens Energy commences off shore wind turbine operations in Denmark

German firm Siemens Energy, a provider of products, solutions and services for the Energy sector, has initiated operations of the 6MW offshore wind turbine in Østerild, Denmark.

With each blade measuring 75m in length (the world’s largest); the SWT-6.0-154 turbine possesses a rotor diameter of 154m.

Each turbine has the capacity to generate 25 million KW hours of clean electricity for offshore purposes, equivalent to the energy requirement of 6,000 households.

The SWT-6.0 turbines were developed using the company’s gearless drive technology to enable a compact design. Such design renders the turbine the lightest in its class, weighing just 200t.

As a result, the design/weight combination offers a higher output while diminishing offshore infrastructure, installation and maintenance costs, claimed the company.

Siemens Energy Sector Wind Power Division CTO Henrik Stiesdal stated that this field testing promotes the development of competitive technologies for more advanced large offshore wind farms.

"We incorporated our technological expertise gained over more than three decades into the development of both the gearless turbine and its 75-meter rotor blade," added Stiesdal.

"Compared to our first 30-kilowatt turbine, which we developed 30 years ago, the new STW-6.0-154 will produce over a thousand times more energy per year."

Siemens’ first 6-MW prototype turbine with a 120m rotor was installed in May 2011 in Høvsore test site in Denmark with consistent operations reported for a year.

In partnership with Danish group, DONG Energy, Siemens will install 300 such offshore wind turbines for projects off the coast of the UK.

Siemens expects to install two more SWT-6.0 prototypes at Gunfleet Sands, an offshore wind power plant Britain.