SIEMENS INTERVIEW
leadership in offshore wind and underpins its commitment to UK manufacturing and the UK renewables industry.
NEXT GENERATION TECHNOLOGY HERE IN THE REGION
Siemens will develop the first rotor blade manufacturing plant for its next-generation 6MW wind turbines at the Paull site in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This brings leading edge blade technology to the UK and high- end manufacturing and skilled jobs to the region.
Finbarr Dowling
Siemens, with a heritage of over 170 years in the UK already has a significant manufacturing footprint with 13 factories and businesses employing 13,760 people. Over a third of these work in Siemens energy businesses, which includes almost 2,000 employees in renewables; developing and installing the latest wind turbine technology, designing and engineering offshore transmission solutions and providing service and logistics operations to wind farm developers. The new factory at Paull and related developments at Green Port Hull will add around 1,000 new colleagues to the Siemens family.
The new manufacturing and service facilities in Green Port Hull and Paull will be key additions to Siemens already extensive renewables portfolio in the UK. Around 50% (5GW) of the UK’s total onshore and offshore wind generating capacity is delivered and serviced by Siemens. Siemens has delivered technology, grid and service solutions to 13 offshore wind farms around the UK’s coast, which includes many of the world’s biggest developments, such as London Array (175 turbines), Gwynt-y-Môr (160), Greater Gabbard (140). Siemens has also invested in Research and Development centres in the UK (Sheffield, Keele, and Manchester) dedicated to wind power and grid research. It also has an impressive renewables training infrastructure. Siemens has invested £9m in its Energy Service Training Centre in Newcastle which boasts a dedicated wind power training school for wind service technicians. Siemens has pioneered new apprenticeships for wind service and installation technicians.
The SWT- 6.0-154 turbines (part of Siemens D6 platfom) incorporate the latest in blade technology using the patented IntegralBlade process. The B75 blade is manufactured from glass fibre-reinforced epoxy resin and balsa wood. It has no seams or glued joints and no adhesive, all of which saves weight. This makes the 75m long blade the world’s largest fibre glass component cast in one piece and also one of the longest blades in the world with a total rotor diameter of 154m. The rotor sweeps an area of 18,600 m2 - the size of 2½ football pitches.
in the UK, creating highly skilled jobs and investing in the supply chain.”
The Alexandra Dock operation will employ about 450 people. At the Paull site, there will be about another 550 people. These will be full-time long-term jobs. The jobs created during construction will peak at about 350.
“There are many facets to this project – a pre-construction phase including planning and design, then the actual preparation of the sites by ABP to allow us to construct our facilities, followed by the fitting out of those facilities. In parallel there will be a recruitment process. This process will kick in at various stages over the coming months and years, and of course the size and scope of that recruitment will vary in line with where we are with the readiness of our facilities.”
“This investment is going to create lots of new jobs and opportunities, meaning more financial security and peace of mind for families and a more resilient economy for our country.”
Prime Minister, David Cameron
These larger more efficient gearless turbines are produced using serial production techniques. Serial production and turbine and blade design are key elements in the industry’s cost reduction programme and its commitment to reducing the cost of energy.
Industrialising the servicing process and ensuring it works in an optimum way is also important in reducing the running costs and therefore lowering the LCOE (Levelised Cost of Energy). Service and logistics operations are also integral parts of the new facility in Yorkshire. There will be a logistics centre at the Hull site for housing spare parts and shipping them out to the North Sea and a network of centres throughout the UK.
GREEN PORT HULL AND PAULL Commenting on the project, Finbarr Dowling, Siemens Project Director for the Green Port Hull and Paull Developments said: “With respect to UK offshore wind farms supplying energy to UK customers, it follows that we have as high UK content as possible – so we’ll be spending money
“In addition and in parallel with the aforementioned programme we’ll also be engaging with our external stakeholders, including the local communities, local and national government, local educational institutions and potential local and national suppliers,” comments Finbarr.
In summary there is a lot to do and many elements to consider, this is a complex project and time spent now, up front, getting the planning right is critical to the future operation of Siemens businesses based in Hull.
“My team and I look forward to kick-starting the process later this year and helping the region develop and contribute to this exciting industry that is so important to the UK’s low carbon future,” says Finbarr.
Seimens
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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HULL & HUMBER SPOTLIGHT ON
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