Largest wind service order ever for Siemens in Germany

The gearless drive technology of the 67 Siemens wind turbines will assure high reliability and maintainability.

Veja Mate Offshore Project GmbH, a company owned by Highland Group Holdings Ltd, Copenhagen Infrastructure II- a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Siemens Financial Services (SFS)- have now come to a final investment decision.

This confirms the collaboration that had been started with a public signing at the EWEA Offshore trade show in Copenhagen in March. Also included is a 15-year service and maintenance agreement, representing the largest ever wind service order for Siemens in Germany and the second largest globally.

Accordingly, Siemens will provide a highly advanced offshore service logistics concept, tailored specifically for far-shore projects such as Veja Mate that uses both helicopters and a specially designed, purpose-built service operation vessel (SOV).

It will be the fifth SOV to be deployed by Siemens in European waters. To ensure increased energy production this concept allows maintenance work to be carried out at almost all times irrespective of the weather conditions or wave height.

The 400-megawatts offshore project in German waters is located in the North Sea northwest of Borkum Island at 115km from the shore. It will be installed at water depths ranging from 39 to 41metres. With average wind speeds of more than 10 meters per second at a hub height of 80 meters above sea level, the site offers excellent conditions for a high energy yield.

Grid access will be provided by BorWin2, a HVDC grid connection also built by Siemens. BorWin 2 was handed over to operator TenneT early this year and is already in commercial operation. Its 800 megawatts capacity encompasses the grid connection for both Veja Mate and also the Global Tech I offshore wind farms.

The financing is being provided through a combination of equity and debt, with SFS working in partnership with Highland Capital Group and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in the multi-source project financing structure.

SFS is investing a substantial amount as equity and thus contributes a notable piece to the overall project funding.