UK: Siemens signs long-term wind service agreement

Siemens has been awarded a long-term contract extension for service and maintenance at the 350-megawatt (MW) Clyde wind farm in Scotland. The customer is Clyde Windfarm (Scotland), LTD, owned by SSE, Greencoat UK Wind and GLIL. This is the sixth service agreement Siemens has signed with majority shareholder SSE since July 2015. The Clyde wind farm is comprised of 152 SWT-2.3-93 wind turbines and is capable of powering 300,000 average homes in the UK. The project has been serviced and maintained by Siemens since beginning commercial operation in 2011 and is located near Crawford in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Under terms of the agreement, Siemens will provide long-term service and maintenance services for an additional 15 years with its SWPS-300W maintenance agreement. The SWPS-300W is the most comprehensive onshore wind service package available from Siemens, and includes a guarantee of availability and extended warranty on major components over the entire term. With its sophisticated monitoring, management and data analysis tools, Siemens’ Remote Diagnostics Services, part of the Siemens Digital Services portfolio, supports predictive maintenance planning by identifying potential issues before they impact operations.

“This extension underscores our commitment to providing customers with value-driven service plans targeted to their specific operational needs and complemented with our advanced digital services,” said Mark Albenze, CEO of Siemens Power Generation Services, Wind Power and Renewables business unit. “Ensuring wind energy continues as a viable and reliable renewable energy source in the UK requires the very best service and maintenance support over the entire lifecycle of the turbines. We thank Clyde Windfarm (Scotland), LTD for their confidence in our products and services and look forward to continuing our close collaboration with them.”

In 2015, Siemens received an order for the supply, installation, commissioning and servicing of 54 direct drive wind turbines at the Clyde Extension project. The SWT-3.2-101 turbines will add another 172.8 MW to the Clyde wind farm. With its existing capacity of 350 MW, Clyde is already one of the largest onshore wind power plants in Europe.

In addition to the Clyde and Clyde Extension projects, Siemens has signed service agreements with four other wind farms (Galway Phases 1 and 2, Toddleburn and Tievenameenta) owned and/or operated by SSE within the last year. Siemens wind turbines are currently in operation or under construction at 18 SSE onshore wind farms, with a total generating capacity nearly one gigawatt (GW).

Siemens services and maintains almost half of the UK's total wind-generating capacity – approximately 2,200 Siemens wind turbines at over 60 wind farms (onshore and offshore) delivering approximately 6.4 GW in total. Globally, Siemens is providing service and maintenance for more than 10,000 wind turbines, with a combined generating capacity of approximately 24 GW.