LeedCo (Lake Erie Energy Development Co.) recently announced it has decided to target Siemens, rather than GE, in the procurement of its wind turbines for the Lake Erie installation offshore from Cleveland. The move will result in a number of important advances for this project, the whole region, and beyond. For instance:
- The chosen Siemens Direct Drive turbines would be manufactured entirely in the U.S.
- They would be ideal for the wind strengths typically encountered over Lake Erie.
- While they would have a lower maximum power than the GE machines (3.0 MW as compared to 4.1 MW), they would produce power more of the time, and thus generate more energy in the long run. This translates into producing electricity at a lower cost.
- Because the Siemens turbines are smaller than the GE units originally envisioned in the LeedCo plan, requiring smaller foundations, the project becomes easier and less expensive to construct and install. In addition, the Siemens turbines would be commercially available as soon as the order is made.
Siemens makes regional supply chain development a business priority. By partnering with a company having such an goal, LeedCo will put Ohio in the leadership position of developing the clean and inexpensive energy from wind in the Great Lakes.
LeedCo
leedco.org
Filed Under: News, Offshore wind, Projects