Siemens wins New Zealand wind power deal

A New Zealand project will be the first in Asia-Pacific to be installed with the Siemens SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines.

Siemens Energy and Meridian Energy have signed an order for the supply of 28 of these wind turbines for the Te Uku wind power project.

Located near Hamilton, the wind farm is scheduled to come on line in 2011 and will have a capacity of 64 megawatts, which is enough power to meet the needs of 30,000 households. It is estimated that the project will save approximately 145,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

"New Zealand’s abundance of natural wind resources is ideal for wind power generation," said Andreas Nauen, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power Business Unit. "Siemens and Meridian Energy initially worked together on the West Wind project which was recently commissioned ahead of schedule. We are confident that the follow-up project at Te Uku will also be a great success."

With a diameter of 101 meters, the rotor of the new SWT-2.3-101 has a swept area of 8,000 square meters. The new turbine is based on the design of the widely deployed 2.3-MW family.

The scope of supply for Siemens includes the delivery and installation of the 28 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines. Furthermore, Meridian Energy and Siemens signed a two-year service and maintenance contract. The project is the first wind power plant in New Zealand to be built in partnership between a community power trust and a state-owned power generator and retailer.

The consistently strong wind speeds in New Zealand make the country ideal for wind power plants. In October, Siemens commissioned its first wind power plant in New Zealand. The 62 SWT-2.3-82VS wind turbines at the West Wind site, which is also owned by Meridian Energy, is now supplying up to 70,000 homes with clean energy.
Wind power is one of the biggest contributors to the Siemens Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the Portfolio totaled about US$34.47 billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of ecofriendly technologies. In the same period, their products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million tons.