Dong Energy has selected Siemens to supply its new 7-megawatt turbines for the 330-MW second phase of the Walney Extension offshore project the English west coast in the Irish Sea.
Siemens will provide 67 sets of the turbines for the project. The company only announced the development of the new turbine a day earlier saying the SWT-7.0-154 delivers nearly 10% more energy production than the predecessor under offshore wind conditions while retaining the same proven reliability.
The new model is already set to go into series production by 2017. “The 7-MW turbine is an upgrade of the 6-MW platform, that we are very familiar with and are already installing at both Westermost Rough in the UK and at our Gode Wind 1+2 wind farms in Germany,” said Mats Vikholm, Senior Vice President for Dong Energy Wind Power. “We are certain that this improved and bigger turbine will contribute to driving down cost of offshore wind power even further.”
Earlier this year, DONG Energy selected MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, with its 8-MW turbine, as its preferred supplier for the first phase of the Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm.
The Walney Extension project has already been awarded a contract for difference under the EMR FID-enabling regime and, in November 2014, the project was granted consent by the British Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.