ScottishPower picks Siemens wind turbine for 714-MW East Anglia 1

ScottishPower Renewables, part of Spain’s Iberdrola (BME:IBE), said today it has chosen Siemens’ (FRA:SIE) 7-MW offshore wind turbine for the 714-MW East Anglia 1 project in British waters.

In particular, the German engineering major has been selected as preferred supplier and will deliver up to 102 of its turbines for the GBP-2-billion (USD 3.1bn/EUR 2.7bn) project.

ScottishPower said in its statement that this is "the biggest deal ever concluded for a consented project in the UK’s wind energy sector". The actual value of the deal was not disclosed, but according to a Reuters source it is worth between GBP 750 million and GBP 850 million.

Siemens will manufacture the turbine blades at its new factory on Alexandra Dock in Hull, England, which obtained a planning consent on Wednesday and is expected to be opened in 2017.

East Anglia 1 has consent for 1,200 MW of capacity off the Suffolk coast, but got a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the UK government's auction for 714 MW. Under the CfD the farm will get GBP 119 per MWh for 15 years.

Construction work on the offshore wind park is seen to begin in 2017, while the first turbines are expected to be erected in 2019. Commercial operations are scheduled for 2020.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.534/EUR 1.366)

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