Sweden an early adopter of leading 5.X technology

Onshore100GW

Madrid / 21 June 2022

In the last of three short interviews to mark the milestone of Onshore reaching the 100GW in our #onshore2netzero campaign we take a look at the Skaftaasen project, which pushed the Onshore business unit past this marker. The project is the first to use Onshore’s leading technology in the Siemens Gamesa 5.X platform, which provides one of the most competitive energy solutions to our customers. Lars Peter Gomes Larsen, Project Manager for the site gave us his insight on this key project.
Communication Specialist
What makes the Skaftaasen project special?

Skaftaasen Project in Sweden is very special as it’s our first sold commercial 5.X site. It’s also our very first 100% Siemens Gamesa turbine. At this project will use 35 Siemens Gamesa 5.X turbines with a 155-meter rotor. A lot of people are following this progress internally, as well as on the customer side, which highlights the great interest in our new platform. Being the first project also means we have been challenged by new findings from both prototypes, and this has led us to have a high number of retrofits and we have already found improvements to be implemented during project execution.

What are you learning on this project to help us deliver better for our customers?

My personal learnings on Skaftaasen are focused on how and where we can optimize to get even smoother installation, quicker commissioning and how best to deliver a project on time, budget and with high availability, which in the end is the target for us as a company and also what keeps our Customers believing and wanting this new turbine.
Lars Peter Gomes Larsen, Project Manager
How can the Siemens Gamesa 5.X provide a boost to the energy transition in Northern Europe?

The 5.X is a very competitive and flexible turbine that very easily is configured to suit a variety of different markets and conditions. This, together with the big jump to a 6.6MW output, will be a big boost to the energy transition that is needed more now than ever. It’s a platform already prepared for further development in terms of flexibility as well as output.
What are the main challenges facing the development of onshore wind in the region?

Some of the main challenges in the Northern Region are things like distances, site conditions, logistics and of course the long and hard winters. However, this is not new to us and topics we are used to working with and we are still always optimizing by looking at new types of equipment, new technologies and also very important by planning installations to fit the good periods as best as possible. For these reasons, and things like stable supply chains, short lead times are really important to assure plans and budgets are kept.
How big do you see this technology getting and what benefits do such turbines provide?

With the 5X we are again working with geared technology, which is not new to us. We are building on the very best from the two Legacies and we have a highly competitive and flexible turbine already prepared for further development. Based on this together with the much higher output I believe we will benefit in terms of more projects. This is already reflected in the very high interest and amount of already sold GW.  
Challenges in the Northern Region: distances, site conditions, logistics and long and hard winters
We have celebrated just three of the important projects that have helped Onshore reach the 100GW milestone, but so many more projects and people have contributed so a huge thank you to everyone. And on to the next 100GW!

#onshore2netzero

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