Norway: Siemens to supply wind turbines for onshore project in Norway

Siemens has received an order to supply, install and commission 50 onshore wind turbines in Norway. Project developers are Zephyr AS and Norsk Vind Energi AS. Funds managed by BlackRock are providing equity financing for the project. The wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3.2 megawatts and a rotor diameter of 113 meters, will be erected in Rogaland south of Stavanger in Norway. The wind power plant Tellenes will produce clean energy equivalent to the annual consumption of 30,000 Norwegian households. Under the terms of an agreement Google will use the renewable energy produced by the wind turbines to power data centers in Europe. Siemens will also be responsible for operating and servicing the wind turbines under a long-term agreement.

"Technology companies such as Google are increasingly covering their rising energy demands with clean wind power," stated Thomas Richterich, CEO Onshore of Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division. "We are proud to be part of this development with our direct drive technology. Tellenes will also be one of the largest onshore wind projects in Norway." Siemens will deliver its direct drive turbine SWT- 3.2-113 for the Tellenes project. Construction will start in July 2016, and the project is expected to be fully operational in late 2017.

The wind project will provide Google’s European data centers with renewable energy for 12 years. This cross-border arrangement is possible thanks to Europe’s increasingly integrated energy market. Especially the Scandinavian Nord Pool market allows Google to buy renewable energy with a Guarantee of Origin certified in Norway, and consume an equivalent amount of power elsewhere in Europe.