Siemens to supply 448 onshore wind turbines in the US

Hamburg - Siemens has received an order from the U.S. energy company Midamerican Energy for the supply of 448 wind turbines.

With a total capacity of 1,050 megawatts (MW), this represents not only the largest order for onshore wind turbines for Siemens, but also the largest single order for onshore wind power awarded globally to date. The wind turbines, each with a nominal rating of 2.3 MW and a rotor diameter of 108 meters, are to be installed in five different projects in Iowa. Siemens will also be responsible for service and maintenance of the wind turbines.

"Siemens not only leads the way for offshore wind power worldwide, we are also a very successful player in the onshore wind industry. In Europe and Africa alone, we successfully installed more than 1 gigawatt in the last fiscal year. This new order from MidAmerican Energy once again highlights that we are one of the leading suppliers in the U.S. wind power market," said Markus Tacke, CEO of the Wind Power Division of Siemens Energy.

Iowa is one of the leading U.S. states in wind energy generation. In 2012, around 24 percent of total power generation in the state was provided by wind power. Siemens has already installed 1.2 GW of wind power capacity for MidAmerican Energy to date. Including this new order, these wind projects will provide around 660,000 American households with power when they are completed in 2015. The nacelles and hubs for the wind turbines of this major order will be assembled at the Siemens plant in Hutchinson, Kansas, and the rotor blades will be produced by Siemens in Fort Madison, Iowa.

Source: IWR Online, 16 Dec 2013