Siemens Gamesa is set to become the supplier of the world’s largest offshore project to date, Hornsea Two, promoted by the Danish energy distributor Ørsted. Once it enters service in early 2022, this park will provide clean energy to approximately 1.3 million British households. The installation of the 165 SG 8.0-167 Direct Drive wind turbines 89 kilometers from the British East Coast is scheduled for 2021.
“Ørsted is one of Siemens Gamesa’s key partners in transforming a park’s offshore wind energy into a source of clean energy at the scale of a power plant,” says Andreas Nauen, Offshore CEO at SGRE. “We are proud and satisfied to face this challenge in the framework of a close and lasting collaboration with an experienced operator like Ørsted”.
This record project, with a total capacity of 1,386 MW, is not only the largest wind project in the history of Siemens Gamesa but also the largest order in the history of offshore wind energy. So far, Hornsea One held the record with a capacity of 1,218 MW – it has also been developed by Ørsted and is currently under construction.
Duncan Clark, program director for the Hornsea 1 and 2 Projects at Ørsted, says that “we are delighted to continue working with Siemens Gamesa and have worked with them on many other projects in the UK, including Race Bank, which opened the month passed and it was the first project in which blades manufactured at the Hull plant were used. ”
The Nacelles for Hornsea Two will be produced at the innovative SGRE factory in Cuxhaven, Germany, while most of the blades will be manufactured at the Hull plant in the United Kingdom, where pre-assembly work will also be carried out. The towers are expected to come partly from suppliers in the United Kingdom. A single 8-MW turbine is capable of generating enough electricity for more than 8,000 European homes.
Originally planned to accommodate up to 300 wind turbines, Hornsea Two has adapted to the progress of significantly more powerful and efficient materials and components. With only 165 units the original production is matched and the project benefits from a significantly improved economic efficiency and a simultaneous reduction of LCoE.
The new SG 8.0-167 DD is equipped with a rotor of 167 meters in diameter. The blades, 81.5 meters in length, offer a sweeping area 18% wider and 20% more annual production than its predecessor, SWT-7.0-154. It has proven technology in the Direct Drive platform combined with a large-scale rotor to offer customers a greater return on their investment while minimizing costs and associated risks.
Filed Under: Construction, News, Offshore wind, Projects