Siemens secure 322 MW Scotland order

Siemens has been awarded the sought-after contract to supply turbines to Europe's biggest wind farm, ScottishPower's 322 MW Whitelee project near Glasgow, Scotland. Under the EUR 350 deal, Siemens will supply, install, commission, service and maintain 140 of its 2.3 MW machines at the site on Eaglesham Moor. The contract is Siemens' largest to date, beating its previous record order from Texas. The first turbines will arrive next October and the site will be fully operational in summer 2008. ScottishPower also awarded contracts to Morrison Construction and Balfour Kilpatrick for site infrastructure works. Over £100 million of the total £330 million cost of the project is expected to be placed with local companies, says ScottishPower's Philip Bowman. "Whitelee is just the beginning. We also have large projects such as Harestanes [210 MW] and Arecleoch [180 MW] currently in planning and intend to spend £1 billion on onshore wind projects by 2010," he says.