US: Siemens receives major order for 151-MW wind project

Siemens has been awarded an order from Apex Clean Energy to supply, support installation and provide long-term service for 66 wind turbines for the Grant Wind project in Grant County, Oklahoma. The Grant Wind project follows an announcement earlier this year that Siemens will provide turbines, service and financing for Apex Clean Energy’s Kay Wind project in Kay County, Oklahoma. Installation of the turbines is scheduled to begin in October 2015, with the start of operations expected in the spring of 2016. Siemens Financial Services is supporting the project’s construction financing with USD50 million.

The project will feature 66 Siemens SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines, each with a power rating of 2.3 megawatts (MW) and 53-meter blades. The Siemens SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines are part of the company’s G2 platform of onshore geared products – the workhorse of Siemens’ installed portfolio with rotor diameters optimized for all wind conditions. The G2 platform features exceptional reliability and low operational costs for an optimized return on investment. The nacelles for the Grant Wind project will be assembled at the Siemens facility in Hutchinson, Kansas, and the blades will be manufactured at the Siemens blade facility in Fort Madison, Iowa. The 151-MW project is expected to create enough clean energy to power approximately 50,000 average U.S. homes.

A long-term service and maintenance agreement for the turbines was also signed and includes Siemens’ remote monitoring and diagnostic services, which offer a proactive approach to service and maintenance to help bolster the performance of the turbines during their lifetime. Additionally, Siemens is supplying the project’s main step up transformer.

“With this second order in one year, Apex Clean Energy continues our successful collaboration,” underlines Thomas Richterich, CEO Onshore of the Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division. “We are proud to meet the customers demand with our full spectrum of resources including equipment, service and financing.”