The Rødsand II order for 207 MW, one of the largest yet placed for an offshore project anywhere, increases the distance that Siemens is putting between itself and Vestas as the leading supplier of offshore technology. To date, Siemens has avoided most of the technical problems that have plagued Vestas' turbines, in particular its 3 MW model. After gearbox problems, Vestas took the offshore version of the 3 MW turbine off the market for an extended period before returning it to the sales list in May this year.
In round figures, Siemens says it has 1800 MW of offshore turbines either in operation or on order, split more or less evenly between its 2.3 MW and 3.6 MW designs, says the company's Martin Olesen. The choice of the 2.3 MW unit for Rødsand II means the appearance of the wind farm will closely resemble that of Rødsand I. The visual impact of the wind farm, particularly with regard to the height of the turbines, has been a discussion point locally.
The new plant will be built three kilometres west of the existing 72 turbines off the Danish town of Nysted. The total project price for Rødsand II, EUR 275 million, includes a two year service agreement.