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Siemens Blows the Canadian Market Wide Open
Green Technology Featured Articles
March 18, 2013

Siemens Blows the Canadian Market Wide Open

By Cheryl Kaften
TMCnet Contributor

Siemens (News - Alert) Canada is, literally, closing another “blowout sale.” The Oakville, Ontario division of the German company will supply and commission 124 wind turbines for the new 270-megawatt (MW) South Kent Wind project.


Located in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southwestern Ontario, the South Kent Wind project is predicted to generate enough energy to power 100,000 homes in the province.

The turbine order— which follows an announcement last week by Samsung (News - Alert) Renewable Energy, Inc. and Toronto-based Pattern Energy that they have secured financing for the project—represents a key part of Seoul, Korea-based Samsung's US$7-billion investment in Ontario to build and operate 2,500 MW of wind and solar power, creating the largest renewable energy cluster in the world.  The partners are establishing four manufacturing facilities in Windsor, Toronto, Tillsonburg and London—creating 900 new manufacturing jobs and 16,000 jobs overall in communities hit hard by the global recession.

"The approval of South Kent is a huge win for wind in Canada and we're excited to be moving forward … and to ramp up production in Tillsonburg. We're encouraged by the overall progress of wind projects in Ontario, are proud to base our Canadian operations in the province and are eager to help to bring renewable energy to Canadians," commented Jacob Andersen, vice president, Wind Power, Siemens Canada

"I'd like to congratulate Siemens for this important milestone. It will help supply Ontario with clean, renewable energy and support good jobs in southwestern Ontario."

 Each of the Siemens SWT-2.3-101 turbines has a maximum power rating of up to 2.3 MW and a rotor diameter of 330 feet at a hub-height of 326 feet. All blades for the project will be manufactured by Siemens at the company's wind turbine blade facility in Tillsonburg, with production and hiring ramping up to capacity in order to fulfill the agreement. The Tillsonburg plant is the first production facility of its kind in Ontario.

Towers for the project will be manufactured at CS Wind's facility in Windsor using Ontario-made steel. The investments by Siemens and CS Wind, totaling more than US$98 million demonstrate the progress of the Green Energy Investment Agreement between Samsung and the Ontario Government and underscore the significance of the Green Energy Act as part of the province's commitment to economic development and environmental sustainability.

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, Canada is the ninth largest producer of wind energy in the world, with current installed capacity at roughly 6,500 MW. Siemens holds a leading position in the Ontario market; and subsequent to the South Kent order, Ontario will join Washington, Texas and Iowa as areas of North America with more than 1,000 MW of Siemens installed capacity.

Installation of the wind turbines for the South Kent project is scheduled to begin this year, with the start of operations expected for spring 2014. The deal also includes a three-year service agreement.

In order to enhance its proximity to its installed base, including the service of the South Kent project, Siemens also has established its first Canadian wind turbine service and maintenance distribution center in Chatham, Ontario. The distribution center will house commonly used parts that are critical to wind turbine operations and distribute them to wind farms based in Ontario. In addition, the facility will incorporate a training center focused on developing and maintaining the technical skills required for Siemens service technicians.

Chatham was chosen as the location for the center based on its proximity to Siemens' customer base at wind farms in the province as well as its local government support of renewable energies and local investment.




Edited by Brooke Neuman


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