Siemens and Samsung in wind turbine deal

Aug. 10, 2010
Siemens will invest in a new state-of-the-art blade production facility in Ontario.

ERLANGEN, Germany -  Siemens Energy and Samsung C&T Corporation have signed an agreement for the supply of wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 600 megawatts (MW). The wind turbines to be delivered under this supply agreement will be deployed at selected wind projects in southern Ontario and will provide clean power to approximately 240,000 Canadian homes. Furthermore, Siemens will establish a blade manufacturing site in Canada that is set to create up to 300 jobs in the province.

"With this supply agreement we are strengthening our position in the rapidly growing wind power market in Canada," said Jens-Peter Saul, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power Business Unit. "Furthermore, by investing in a new blade production facility in Canada, Siemens is pushing further ahead with the regionalization of its wind manufacturing network in important markets." Siemens also recently invested in a U.S. nacelle production facility in Hutchinson, Kansas, which will start producing nacelles in December 2010.

Siemens has been working with Samsung C&T and its development partner Pattern Energy on this first phase of development under Ontario's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program where Samsung has committed to develop 2,000 MW of wind power over the next six years. The new wind turbine supply agreement is a significant step on the road to realizing this commitment.

The installed capacity of wind power in Canada is expected to increase from 3,400 MW today to more than 15,000 MW in 2020. Siemens already has a strong presence in Canada. So far the company has installed a total of 130 2.3-MW rated wind turbines at Kruger Energy's 101.2-MW Port Alma wind farm and TransAlta's 197.8-MW Wolfe Island wind farm in Ontario, and is supplying an additional 152 units of its 2.3-MW wind turbines to four recently announced projects, which will bring Siemens installed capacity to a total of 550 MW by the end of 2011.