Vestas has received its first Italian V100 wind energy order consisting of 11 units of the V100-1.8 MW wind turbine, representing a total capacity of 19.8 MW, for the Santa Luce Wind Farm, which will be located in Tuscany, Italy.
The contract comprises delivery, transportation, installation and commissioning of the wind turbines, a VestasOnline® Business SCADA system, as well as a 15-year service and maintenance AOM 4000 agreement (Active Output Management).
The AOM 4000 is a full-scope service contract, consisting of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and consumables, which offers solid risk management for customers, who want an availability guarantee measured against an agreed threshold. This type of contract offers customers assured performance avoiding unforeseen operational costs of any kind.
The order has been placed by Santa Luce S.r.l., a special purpose company of Fera S.r.l. Fera is one of the first ten companies developing wind power plants in the Italian market actively investing in new power generation technology. Fera has previously developed other wind power plants in Italy with Vestas technology with a total installed capacity of approximately 45 MW.
Delivery of the first turbines for the Santa Luce wind farm is expected to start during the third quarter of 2012 and the project is expected to be commercially operational before the end of 2012.
“We are pleased to announce the signature of the very first V100-1.8 MW project in Italy. With a proven and reliable technical platform and a high performance, the 2 MW platform has won the customers’ recognition at a global level. Launched to the market in mid-2011, the V100-1.8 MW has already a track record of 369 units installed globally, representing close to 700 MW, as of 31 December 2011,” said Juan Araluce, Acting President, Vestas Mediterranean and Chief Sales Officer, Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
Rainer Karan, General Manager, Vestas Italia, states: “This turbine has a very good fit to the Italian sites and respective wind conditions. Having been chosen by Santa Luce S.r.l. for the first V100-1.8 MW wind farm in Italy is a clear sign of the company’s trust in our proven and reliable 2 MW platform. We are proud of the on-going business relationship with Fera and we believe we can support them in broadening their installed wind power capacity. With this order, Vestas reinforces its presence in northern Italy and further contributes to the country’s own energy production.”
The Santa Luce wind power plant will produce approx. 53 GWh per year, which corresponds to an annual saving of 21,000 tons of CO2 emissions. Furthermore, it will provide enough electricity to cover the residential electricity consumption of more than 46,500 people in Italy.
Every single day, Vestas wind turbines deliver clean energy that supports the global fight against climate change. Wind power from Vestas’ more than 46,000 wind turbines currently reduces carbon emissions by approximately 50 million tons of CO2 every year, while at the same time building energy security and independence. Today, Vestas has installed turbines in 69 countries, and for our own operations alone we provide jobs for over 20,000 passionate people at our service and project sites, research facilities, factories and offices all over the world.
Vestas has been operating in the Italian wind energy market since 1998 through the company Vestas Italia which is the sales unit in Vestas Mediterranean handing all sales operations and maintenance activities in Italy. The Italian sales unit is also responsible for the business development activities in the markets of Switzerland, the Balkans, Libya, Egypt and Jordan.
Vestas Italia’s headquarters and main sales office are located in Rome. The company also has an operations office in Taranto, a customer service centre in San Giorgio, as well as service and logistics facilities spread all over the country and on the main islands. In addition, Vestas currently has two production facilities for blades and nacelles in Taranto.
Having delivered 2,664 MW in Italy by 31 December 2011, and with a well-structured service and maintenance organisation, Vestas is the most experienced partner within the wind energy industry in Italy.
