Wind Energy

London Array: Siemens to provide grid access for world?s largest offshore wind farm

Purchasers are Dong Energy, E.ON and Masdar, the wind farm’s owners. Siemens Energy was already appointed to supply the 175 wind turbines for the wind farm as well. With a total capacity of 630 megawatts (MW) the London Array offshore wind farm will follow completion in 2012 and be the largest of its kind in the world.

The wind farm is being erected in the Thames estuary approximately twenty kilometers off the Kent and Essex coasts. An option is also provided for uprating London Array to as much as 1000 MW. The wind farm will thus become the first in the 1-gigawatt class. That will be sufficient to supply 750,000 British households with eco-friendly electricity, which is equivalent to approximately a quarter of the population of Greater London.

“Offshore wind farms of this size place particular demands in terms of grid access. We not only have the requisite technology and know-how but also a wealth of experience in connecting offshore wind farms to the grid,” said Udo Niehage, CEO of the Power Transmission Division of Siemens Energy.

Siemens will supply the electrical equipment for two offshore substation platforms, which will be installed right at the wind farm. The substations bundle the power generated by the 175 Siemens wind turbines, before it is transported via high-voltage subsea cable to the coast. Siemens will also prepare the requisite design studies for grid access for all of the wind farm’s electrical components and prepare the grid studies to demonstrate fulfillment of grid access requirements.

The provision of energy-efficient grid access for offshore wind farms is part of Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about €23 billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of eco-friendly technologies. In the same period, our products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million tons."

The Siemens Wind Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of wind power.

In fiscal 2009 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR25.8 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR30 billion and posted a profit of EUR3.3 billion. On September 30, 2009, the Energy Sector had a work force of more than 85,100. 

www.siemens.com/energy.