Wind Energy

Deepwater Wind first in US to use Siemens 6 MW direct-drive new wind turbines

It will be the first wind energy project in the country, and one of the first anywhere in the world, to use the new wind turbines. Last year, Siemens agreed to supply the 130 wind turbines that Cape Wind plans to install in Nantucket Sound offshore wind power. Those 3.6-megawatt wind turbines are smaller and much more common than the larger wind turbines that Deepwater has agreed to purchase. Deepwater Wind CEO William M. Moore called the 6-megawatt wind turbines the “future of offshore wind power.”

Siemens to supply Deepwater with latest wind power technology. Deepwater Wind has agreed to buy newly designed wind turbines from Siemens Energy for its Block Island Wind Farm. Under the deal, Siemens would supply five of its 6.0 megawatt direct-drive offshore wind turbines for the wind power project, which will be the nation’s first if completed on time.

The announcement of the Deepwater-Siemens deal was made Tuesday at the American Wind Energy Association Offshore Windpower Conference in Baltimore. The Block Island wind energy project will be the first in the United States and one of the first anywhere in the world to use the new turbine, according to the companies.

“The Siemens turbine is the future of offshore wind, and our partnership with Siemens is a huge advancement and advantage for the Block Island Wind Farm,” William M. Moore, CEO of Deepwater Wind, said in a release. “Not only is Siemens one of the leading technology firms in the world, but they have now agreed to supply Deepwater Wind with their very latest wind turbine technology, one that will move our entire industry forward.”

Siemens has more than 20 years of project experience and more than 2,000 megawatts of installed capacity in European waters alone. “We are extremely excited to partner with Deepwater Wind, one of the leading developers of offshore wind in North America,” said Mark Albeniz, CEO of the Americas Business Unit of Siemens Energy’s Wind Power Division.

The Block Island Wind Farm will be located in state waters 3 miles southeast of Block Island, and is expected not only to supply energy to New Shoreham but to connect the island to the mainland electricity grid. Currently the island receives its electricity from diesel generators. The wind power project is scheduled to begin construction in 2013 or 2014, although delays are possible.

By José Santamarta, www.siemens.com/