Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has won conditional orders from Orsted-Eversource to supply 1.7GW of its SG 8.0-167 turbines for three offshore wind projects the 50-50 joint venture is developing in the US Atlantic.
The deal encompasses machines for the 880MW Sunrise Wind, due in commercial operation by 2024, the 704MW Revolution Wind (2023) and the 130MW South Fork (2022) – all to be located in relatively shallow federal waters off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The win is huge for SGRE. Despite being the global leader, the OEM had been limited in the US to supplying two 6MW turbines for a pilot project off Virginia, as the sector started to rapidly gain scale in the Northeast US offshore region.
Rival MHI Vestas had already secured an 84-turbine deal from Vineyard Wind for a project off Massachusetts, while GE Renewable Energy was seen as having a hometown edge in the US with its 12MW Haliade-X turbine entering testing.
Equally important, the win should provide a morale boost for SGRE and its visibility more broadly in the US wind market, where it is now a weak third onshore behind GE and Vestas, which dominate it.
“An order of this size is a testament to the confidence which Orsted and Eversource place in [SGRE]. Delivering clean energy for generations to come – now on a large-scale basis in the US offshore market – is a goal we are proud to share with Orsted and Eversource,” said Andreas Nauen, chief executive of the OEM's offshore business unit.
The 8MW SG 8.0-167 has a swept area of 21,900 square metres, and flies B81 blades, each measuring 81.4 meters in length.
The US variant of the SGRE turbine is designed for IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) class S (tropical storm conditions) and T [typhoon] class for the rotor nacelle assembly.
The T-class type certification is slated to be achieved by December 2020, when the model will be approved to operate in extreme wind speeds.
The US East Coast is sometimes buffeted by hurricanes and tropical storms.
