US: Siemens signs first balance of plant wind service agreement

Siemens has signed a long-term contract extension for service and maintenance at the 152-megawatt (MW) Keenan II wind farm in Oklahoma that will add Balance of Plant (BoP) to the scope and extend it for another 15 years. This marks the first long-term BoP wind service agreement in the U.S. for Siemens. The customer is CPV Keenan II Renewable Energy Company (CPV Keenan II), headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Siemens will provide an additional 15 years of service and maintenance for the 66 SWT-2.3-101 turbines installed at the Keenan II wind farm, located near Woodward, OK. The new agreements add BoP to the scope with Siemens performing or coordinating the performance by others of certain service and maintenance activities throughout the wind plant, including the collector system, substation, transformers, transmission lines, switchgear, equipment, machinery, fiber optic cables for the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, control systems, communication systems, foundations, towers, and access roads.

“As the wind energy industry in the U.S. continues to mature, more and more of our customers are looking to Siemens for a fully integrated lifecycle approach to support their long-term operational goals and to help reduce costs,” said Mark Albenze, CEO of Siemens Power Generation Services, Wind Power and Renewables business unit. “This balance of plant agreement at Keenan II supports our goal to provide added value to customers such as CPV Keenan II through integrating our service offerings across the entire plant and tailoring them to meet their specific operational needs. As the original equipment manufacturer for select transmission and substation equipment, Siemens is in the unique position of being able to extend our service offerings beyond the wind turbines.”

“We are very pleased with this arrangement. The expansion of Siemens’ scope in a long term contract will ensure the Keenan II wind farm continues to provide reliable low cost wind energy to Oklahomans for years to come,” said Dave Magill, SVP of Asset Management at CPV.

The service and maintenance will be supported by Siemens Digital Services, including advanced remote monitoring and diagnostics services. Select data-driven services will utilize Sinalytics, the platform architecture and technology foundation for Siemens Digital Services, as well as tailored industry-specific applications. Siemens Digital Services for Energy incorporate advanced analytics based on market, operational and contextual know-how, for a service and maintenance approach tailored specifically to an individual customer’s operating needs. This allows for a comprehensive plant-level asset optimization scenario enabling both predictive and prescriptive services.

The Keenan II wind farm went into commercial operation in December 2010. Keenan II generates enough electricity to power approximately 45,000 average Oklahoma homes and avoid approximately 413,000 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions-the equivalent of taking nearly 72,000 cars off the road. The project has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company. Siemens has been providing service and maintenance on the 66 SWT-2.3 wind turbines at the project since it began operations in 2010. In 2012, Siemens opened a 64,000-square-foot wind service distribution center in nearby Woodward, OK, citing the area’s proximity to wind projects throughout the wind belt.

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 approximately 24 gigawatts (GW).