Siemens Wins 1,800 MW Wind Turbine Contract
Date: 09-Mar-09
Country: DENMARK
COPENHAGEN - Danish state-controlled oil and natural gas group DONG Energy said on Friday it had awarded Siemens a supply contract for up to 500 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 1,800 megawatts.
The wind turbines will be deployed on DONG Energy's coming offshore wind farms in Northern Europe, the company said in a statement.
DONG said the supply agreement was the biggest single order ever for offshore turbines. DONG Chief Executive Anders Eldrup told Reuters it was worth more than 15 billion crowns (US$2.55 billion), but declined to be more specific.
"We've managed to get a discount because we're buying so many, but that's something kept between the two companies," he said.
Eldrup said DONG had negotiated exclusively with Siemens for the order because it was the only company capable of delivering an order that big.
"For the last two, three years, unfortunately, there have not been other suppliers besides Siemens for off-shore turbines," he said.
Danish daily Berlingske said on its website the order was worth 20 billion crowns.
Siemens Renewable Energy Division head Rene Umlauft said the order was one of the biggest in the history of the German firm.
DONG said the turbines Siemens will deliver have a capacity of 3.6 megawatts each and are similar to the turbines in operation at DONG's Burbo Banks offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay.
"Permitting procedures and country-specific wind regime economics will determine where and when the individual projects will be built," DONG said.
Denmark's Vestas, the world biggest maker of wind turbines, also makes a large offshore unit, a 3 megawatt turbine. It put this model back on the market in February last year after pulling it in 2007 following reliability problems with the turbine's gearbox.
Vestas shares lost 6.5 percent on Friday. The company was was immediately unavailable for comment.
(Reporting by Kim McLaughlin; Additional reporting by Karin Jensen; Editing by Will Waterman and Andrew Macdonald)
(US$1=5.892 Danish Crown)