Siemens: Offshore wind park Westermost Rough officially inaugurated

Today, the offshore wind power plant Westermost Rough was officially inaugurated. Consisting of 35 Siemens wind turbines, each with a capacity of 6 megawatts and a rotor diameter of 154 meters, this project is the first to use these turbines on a large scale in a commercial project. Owner is a joint venture between DONG Energy (50%) and its partners Marubeni Corporation (25%) and the UK Green Investment Bank (25%). With a capacity of 210 megawatts, Westermost Rough will be capable of meeting the annual electricity demands for more than 150,000 British households.

The Westermost Rough offshore wind power plant is situated 8 kilometers off the British east coast. The Siemens scope of supply for this project covered the delivery and the commissioning of the direct drive wind turbines. Turbine installation was carried out using the purpose-built installation vessel Sea Challenger which is owned by A2SEA, a joint venture between DONG Energy and Siemens.

“This is the first time Siemens has installed the 6 MW direct drive turbine with a 154 meter diameter rotor on a commercial-scale project,” said Michael Hannibal, CEO Offshore at the Siemens Wind and Renewables Division. “The Westermost Rough project reinforces our wide-ranging experience in offshore wind and is leading the way to bring the costs of offshore wind energy down.”

Siemens is responsible for all scheduled and unscheduled service and maintenance on the turbines at Westermost Rough for the first 5 years through a wind technician team comprised of 50% Siemens and 50% Dong Energy personnel. The 6 MW wind turbines have an integrated helicopter-hoisting platform at the rear of the nacelle which allows easy and safe access for service technicians. At Westermost Rough helicopters will be used to bring the service technicians to the wind turbines. Siemens’ offshore wind service and maintenance operations offer the latest in innovative concepts and safety logistics designed to provide optimal efficiency and reliability. Remote monitoring and diagnostics, along with Siemens’ expert service personnel, will combine to support the offshore turbines at Westermost Rough and help ensure the units are operating at optimal levels at all times.