Siemens Gamesa has landed an order for a batch of its biggest onshore wind turbines, the SG5.8-170, for Danish developer Eurowind Energy’s Knöstad project in Sweden.

The machines, which feature giant 170-metre-diameter rotors designed for low- and medium-speed sites, will be able to operate at 6.2MW capacity, putting them in pole position as the most powerful land-based units in the industry to-date.

The eight-unit order for the 48MW Knöstad development, located near Karlstad, is the second for the OEM for its 5.X platform in Sweden, with the company in December sealing an agreement to supply 35 of its SG5.8-155s – which have smaller 155-metre rotors – for the Skaftåsen project being developed by to Arise and Foresight.

“We are delighted to see how fast this platform is penetrating the Scandinavian market, one of the most sophisticated in the world when it comes to wind power,” said Alfonso Faubel, Siemens Gamesa’s onshore wind CEO.

Jens Rasmussen, CEO of Eurowind Energy, added: “After a successful integration of [Eurowind’s] Thorup Sletten project in Denmark, the country’s largest onshore wind farm in operation, we are happy to further strengthen our relationship with Siemens Gamesa with the Knöstad project.

“We believe that a continuous improvement of LCOE [levellised cost of energy] is evident for the industry and we consider the SG5.8-170 as a step in this direction”.

Each SG5.8-170 turbine will provide power for close to 5,000 European homes a year, while saving emissions of 15,000 tons of CO₂.

The forest-sited Knöstad project will see the turbines, which will have 115-meter hub-height towers, installed during the second half of 2021. The units will be covered by 25-year full-service agreement.

Sweden continues to be one of Europe’s hottest wind markets, with onshore wind projects last year attracting €3.7bn ($4.2bn) of final investment decisions — more than France, Spain and Denmark combined, according to WindEurope’s latest annual statistics – and expectations that it will double its wind capacity from 7.4GW to 14.9GW by 2023 in line with government targets to reach of 100% renewable electricity production by 2040.

Wind

Biggest-rotor onshore turbine order landed by Siemens Gamesa in Sweden