Germany-based wind OEM Senvion is back in the US market with a bang, signing conditional agreements for the supply and commissioning of 275MW in wind turbines for the TG East Wind project in Knox County, Texas, owned by Finland’s Taaleri Energia.

NorthRenew will develop the project jointly with Taaleri, with commercial operations expected to start in 2020. Senvion said the project will still benefit from the production tax credit at 100%.

"We are excited to be back in the US and see this as a showcase project for our new and highly competitive 4.2M140,” Senvion chief sales officer David Hardy says.

“Obviously, size is one thing, but lowest LCoE is really what is driving the decision for Taaleri and NorthRenew and we are glad to have helped them realize this project and bring it to fruition."

Senvion will supply 58 of its 4.2M140 machines with a hub height of 110 metres, and ten of its 3.2M114 turbines with a hub height of 93 metres. They would be the largest turbines utilized onshore in the US and easily exceed the 3.45MW nameplate capacity on those installed by Vestas in Texas.

The agreements include a 25-year service and maintenance contract.

"We are pleased to be working in partnership with Taaleri and NorthRenew for the TG East Wind Project. Our 4.2M140 turbine maximizes yield and creates long-term business case certainty for our customers' investments and our 25 year full service operations and maintenance contract is a testament to this,” Senvion’s chief executive in North America, Lance Marram, said.

Senvion last installed a turbine in the US in 2012 when called REpower - 595MW of capacity that ranked fifth in the market behind GE, Siemens, Vestas and Gamesa. Its first was in 2008. The company has an installed base of about 1.26GW nationwide.

In recent years, the vendor has been promising a return but only now has it made public a supply order. Texas is a good location to reenter the market given project developers there are steadily adopting larger turbines in response to advances in technology, land availability, local support, robust demand for electrical power in a surging economy and a strong wind regime.

Knox County is also a good location for a project given lack of transmission capacity constraints to bring electric power to the booming Dallas-Fort Worth metropolis, which is relatively close geographically.

Taaleri Energia’s North American president Don Curry said the TG East Wind project shows the expansion into North America of the Finnish company.

Updates with Senvion history in US wind market and Texas wind market detail

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Senvion re-enters US with order for 275MW Texas project