Gamesa, a global technology leader in wind energy, has bolstered its presence in northern Europe by disembarking in a new market, Finland, landing an order for 18 MW for TuuliWatti Ltd, a wind power joint venture between Finnish energy company St1 Ltd and national retail cooperative S-Group.
The agreement calls for the delivery, installation and start-up of four G128 turbines, each with capacity of 4.5 MW and a 140-meter tower, at the Simo wind farm in the commune of the same name in northern Finland. In addition, Gamesa will perform operation and maintenance (O&M) services for 10 years, with an option to extend the contract for another five years.
The turbines -specifically designed to withstand low temperatures- are scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2013 and are set to begin operating in the final quarter of 2013. The Simo wind farm's turbines will be the largest and highest-capacity turbines installed to date in Finland. The site will supply 11,000 local households with clean energy.
Framework agreement to deliver 117 MW
Gamesa and TuuliWatti also signed a framework agreement which includes an option for delivering another 117 MW in coming months -namely 26 turbines (also from the Gamesa 4.5 MW with towers of 120 meters, 132 meters and 140 meters)- to outfit another four wind farms in Finland.
"The agreements with TuuliWatti represent a definitive endorsement of our most state-of-the-art multimegawatt technological solutions. The Gamesa 4.5 MW turbine system meets the competitiveness and cost of energy needs of even the most challenging wind farm sites. Its innovative modular design and technology ensure maximum reliability and compliance with the most exacting grid codes and stringent environmental requirements, such as those posed by the Simo wind project," said Gamesa Commercial and Projects Managing Director Javier Perea.
"Simo is an important cornerstone project for TuuliWatti. It is an ambitious initiative which is part of company's total investment project of 400 million euros in the near future. It will help to meet our owners' and country's clean energy targets for coming years. In order to develop competitive and profitable projects, we need leading technology partners in the next-generation, large-scale turbine manufacturing market to produce machines tailored for the peculiarities of our landscapes and wind conditions. Gamesa and its 4.5 MW system offer the optimal product for our wind energy project," said Jari Suominen, TuuliWatti's General Manager.
These new agreements mark further progress in Gamesa's expansion in northern Europe's wind power industry -one of Gamesa's priority markets- where it has completed and is currently developing projects in Sweden for Triventus, Spanish Power -through its subsidiary Spawer Kraft AB- and Eolus Vind AB, one of the leading local wind farm developers.
Finland is considered one of the most promising growth markets in the European wind energy business in coming years. Finland in March 2011 approved a wind energy tariff scheme, designed to meet its target for 2,500 MW of installed wind energy capacity in 2020. The country currently has 200 MW of installed wind capacity.
Gamesa 4.5 MW: ease of transport and assembly
The Gamesa 4.5 MW platform, one of the most powerful land-based turbines, has made Gamesa one of the leading technology companies in the multimegawatt turbine business.
Despite its large size -a tower of between 120 meters and 140 meters in length and blades 62.5 meters in length- the G128-4.5 MW offers a transport and assembly operation in keeping with that of a 2.0 MW turbine thanks to its segmented blade (the only one of its kind in the world). The G128-4.5 MW is also renowned for its independent multismart pitch, which markedly reduces the loads generated by the turbine and enables efficient shear factor management, and for its light weight and competitiveness in Cost of Energy (CoE) terms for this capacity segment.
The G128-4.5 MW is also the first turbine in the world to receive Ecodesign (ISO 14006/2011) certification, which guarantees the lowest possible environmental impact throughout its useful life.