Siemens signs long-term wind service agreement in US

Siemens has been awarded a long-term contract for service and maintenance at the Lower Snake River wind farm located near Pomeroy, Garfield County in Washington State. The customer is Puget Sound Energy (PSE), headquartered in Bellevue, WA. Completed in early 2012, the Lower Snake River project contains 149 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines that produce up to 343 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. On average, the facility generates enough electricity to power 82,000 average U.S. homes. The turbines have been serviced and maintained by Siemens since beginning commercial operation in 2012.

Under terms of the agreement, Siemens will provide expert long-term service and maintenance at the Lower Snake River project for an additional 10 years and install the company’s Power Boost function and High Wind Ride Through® (HWRT) turbine modernization products to all 149 units.

“We thank PSE for their continued confidence in our products and services,” said Mark Albenze, CEO of Siemens Power Generation Services, Wind Power and Renewables business unit. “This agreement and all Siemens’ value-driven wind service plans are targeted to each customer’s specific operational needs. We combine our expert domain knowledge and global fleet data with our highly advanced digital services and analytics to customize a flexible service agreement that provides excellent value and lifecycle care and that helps drive down the costs associated with wind energy.”

“We’re very pleased to continue our partnership with Siemens for the Lower Snake River Wind Project,” said David E. Mills, Vice President of Energy Operations at Puget Sound Energy. “Siemens’ dedication to workplace safety, operational excellence, high reliability, and great customer service really sets it apart in the wind industry. This new agreement will maintain the great plant performance we’ve seen since beginning operation in 2012, and deliver real value to our customers over the next 10 years.”

Siemens’ Power Boost functionality helps ensure that a wind power plant performs at high levels. This controller feature increases power production of the turbine by raising the output limitation under specific operating conditions. Depending on site conditions, the annual energy production can be increased by up to four percent. Part of “Siemens Digital Services for Energy” offerings, the digitally driven HWRT® is designed to prevent the wind turbine from shutting down immediately as wind speeds reach above 25m/s. This leads to enhanced grid stability and replaces the high wind, fixed-threshold shutdown with an intelligent, load-based reduction in output power to help avoid shutdown during high winds.

In addition, with its sophisticated monitoring, management and data analysis tools, Siemens’ Remote Diagnostics Services, also part of “Siemens Digital Services for Energy,” supports predictive maintenance planning by identifying certain potential issues before they impact operations.

Siemens currently provides service and maintenance for more than 4,000 installed wind turbines in the Americas region and more than 10,000 globally, with a combined generating capacity of over 25 gigawatts (GW).