Siemens to supply wind turbines to Minnesota Power in US

Siemens Energy, a German engineering firm, has secured an order from Minnesota Power to supply 64 wind turbines for the Bison Wind Energy Center (BWEC) located at New Salem in North Dakota, US.

As per the deal, Siemens will deliver its latest 3-MW D3 platform wind turbines each of which features a 113-metre rotor and 92.5m hub height for BWEC.

Scope of the order also includes transportation, installation and commissioning, as well as service and maintenance for a period of three years.

Installation of the wind turbines at BWEC will start in mid-June 2014, while the commercial operation is scheduled for December 2014.

Siemens will manufacture the blades of the wind turbines at its facility located at Fort Madison in Iowa, while the D3 nacelle component will be assembled in Hutchinson, Kansas.

According to Siemens, the generation capacity of 3MW D3 platform wind turbines has been raised to 3.2MW.

Siemens Wind Power CEO Markus Tacke said the latest 3-MW direct drive turbine has a larger rotor and a higher tower that enables the company to increase its annual energy output.

"We greatly value Minnesota Power’s confidence in our technologies and services and are very pleased to partner with them once again as they continue to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable power to their customers," Tacke added.

According to Minnesota Power, the new wind turbines will enable BWEC to operate with additional generation capacity of 205MW increasing its total output to nearly 500MW.

Image: Siemens to support Minnesota Power wind project in US. Photo: courtesy of Siemens AG.