The order has an option to be extended to 17 turbines. Installation of the first 33MW is slated to start in the summer of 2015.

The contract includes a 15-year service and maintenance agreement. The project had been tendered out by Wind aan de Stroom, a partnership between harbour operator Gemeentelijk Havenbedrijf Antwerpen, the Maatschappij Linkerschelderoever and GEHA.

"One of the challenges of the project is the installation of the turbines on tight sites in the port due to a high density of industrial and harbour operations," says Jan Kjaersgaard, chief executive for onshore at Siemens Wind Power.