E.ON has placed an order with Siemens Energy for the supply of 87 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines for the Papalote Creek II wind power plant in San Patricio County, Texas. With a total installed rated capacity of more than 200 megawatts (MW), the Papalote Creek II wind farm is expected to provide clean power to approximately 60,000 households.
"With this new project, E.ON and Siemens continue their great partnership in the wind power business,” said René Umlauft, CEO of the Siemens Renewable Energy Division. “The long-term outlook for the wind industry is still strong. Siemens intends to significantly outpace the global market growth of 12 percent to become one of the top three providers."
Siemens is already one of the top three wind turbine suppliers in the U.S.
"We are delighted to partner with Siemens in the next phase of our Papalote Creek II wind farm in south Texas" said Steve Trenholm, CEO, E.ON Climate & Renewables North America. "This project will create more than 300 temporary jobs and provide an investment of more than $300 million to the local tax base. E.ON is pleased to make this investment and help further the growth of the U.S. renewables market"
E.ON and Siemens have partnered on several U.S. wind farm projects in the past. Siemens supplied 54 2.3-MW units for E.ON’s Forest Creek wind farm near Big Spring, Texas, in 2006 and 55 2.3-MW wind turbines for the Champion wind farm in Nolan County, Texas, in 2007.
The Siemens scope of supply for the Papalote Creek II wind power plant includes delivery and transportation of the 87 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines with a rated capacity of 2.3 MW each. With a diameter of 101 meters, the rotor of the new SWT-2.3-101 has a swept area of 8,000 square meters, which equals one-and-a-half football fields.
Delivery is expected to begin in May 2010 and the wind farm is expected to be commissioned in the fall of 2010. Siemens also will provide service and maintenance for two years.
To better meet the increasing demand for clean energy in the Americas, Siemens is currently constructing its wind turbine assembly facility in Hutchinson, Kansas, which is scheduled to become operational in December 2010. The 300,000-square-foot wind turbine nacelle facility is expected to employ up to approximately 400 “green-collar” employees.
Siemens also recently expanded its 600,000-square-foot blade manufacturing facilities in Fort Madison, Iowa, which it opened in 2007. The blades for the Papalote Creek II wind power plant will be manufactured in Fort Madison, Iowa.
Wind power is part of Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fiscal 2009, revenue from the Portfolio totaled approximately EUR23 billion, making Siemens the world’s largest supplier of environmentally friendly technologies.
In the same period, the company’s products and solutions enabled customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 210 million tons. This amount equals the combined annual CO2 emissions of New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin.