Siemens Gamesa is pleased to announce an extension of the original contract term for servicing the 714 MW East Anglia ONE wind power plant, from five to 15 years with customers ScottishPower Renewables and Bilbao Offshore Holdings Limited.
The deal, among the biggest in Siemens Gamesa’s Service business unit’s history, comes just one year after the commissioning of the final of the 102 SWT-7.0-154 turbines. All 306 of the 75-meter-long wind turbine blades for East Anglia ONE came exclusively from the company’s Hull factory on Humberside, just to the north of the development off England’s east coast. East Anglia ONE provides clean, green energy to the equivalent of 630,000 UK households.
The wind power plant is situated 43 km off the coast of Suffolk, England, and was completed in July 2020 - a significant achievement for everyone involved given the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Servicing and maintenance of the wind power plant will continue to be undertaken from the base at the port of Lowestoft. The original development created around 800 jobs for the region, while this contract extension will secure local jobs in the former fishing industry region well into the 2030s. The full-scope contract to service and maintain East Anglia ONE includes provision of offshore logistics and jack-up vessels. Access to East Anglia ONE for service will be via a mix of Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) and helicopter.
Oliver Feltham, Service Operations Manager East Anglia ONE at Siemens Gamesa said, “We are delighted that ScottishPower Renewables has awarded us this almost unprecedented extension of the original contract to maintain East Anglia ONE. To have this happen so soon after the initial contract award, and against the backdrop of changed working practices due to COVID-19, is a great endorsement of our experience and reliability.”
ScottishPower Renewables is part of the Iberdrola Group – one of the world's largest integrated utility companies and a world leader in wind energy.
Victor Rey Romero, Iberdrola’s Offshore O&M Director, said: “This extension reflects the positive partnership working between ScottishPower and Siemens Gamesa following the completion of East Anglia ONE last year.”
“The contract extension means we will continue to benefit from Siemens Gamesa’s knowledge and experience in supporting our windfarm operations over a prolonged period, while we focus on producing the clean, green energy the UK needs to make the transition to net zero. And it will also boost the local economy, providing job security and confidence. This is a very positive development and we very much look forward to continuing to build on our partnership with Siemens Gamesa in the coming years.”
Juan Gutierrez, Service CEO at Siemens Gamesa added, “This award reinforces our focus on being the Offshore Service market leader, by adding such a significant wind power plant to our existing portfolio of 12 GW of maintained offshore turbines. We really look forward to continuing as a trusted partner to ScottishPower Renewables and Iberdrola in the service and maintenance of their projects for many years to come.”
