Siemens opens new turbine blade factory in Hull as wind power breaks UK records again

The UK wind power industry celebrated a new milestone before Christmas, as onshore and offshore turbines together generated a record of 10,104 MW of electricity for the first time, according to National Grid. The record was achieved between 2 and 2.30 pm on 7 December, when wind provided 23% of Britain’s electricity demand.

Meanwhile, Siemens had inaugurated its new rotor blade factory for offshore wind turbines in Hull a week previously. The site at Alexandra Docks has been transformed from a derelict wasteland to a busy high-tech manufacturing hub in under two years, says the company. The factory has completed the first 75-m long blades which are currently stored on racks on site. Shipping to the first offshore wind project, DONG Energy’s Race Bank off the North Norfolk coast, is expected early this year.

With its partner Associated British Ports (ABP), Siemens is investing £310mn in Hull to create a world-class centre for offshore wind manufacturing, assembly and logistics, with the turbine blade factory as the centrepiece. The full Alexandra Dock site, including a new harbour for pre-assembly and load-out of wind turbine components, will be fully on stream later this year. Storage, supply chain and assembly work are interconnected to produce rotor blades for offshore wind turbines of the 7 and 8-MW class.

Offshore wind manufacturing sites such as Hull in the UK and Cuxhaven in Germany are linked by new transport vessels and embedded in Siemens’ logistics concept, with the goal to leverage innovation and industrialisation on the way to lowering the costs of offshore wind energy. A key element of the concept is an improved transport solution, utilising dual-purpose transport vessels to avoid both heavy component lifting and cost-intensive shipping of heavy components.

There is a growing market for wind turbines designed for erection off shore. Offshore wind power plants are currently being built primarily in the North Sea and Baltic Sea off Europe’s northern coastline. However, wind power projects are also being developed in other regions, including the east coast of the US and in Asia off the coast of China and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, electricity has been generated for the first time at Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm, located 7 km off Liverpool Bay. With the initial turbines recently installed, power from the first turbine is being exported to the national grid. This is the first time the next generation MHI Vestas 8 MW turbines (pictured) have been used commercially offshore.

Claus Bøjle Møller, Burbo Bank Extension Programme Director, said: ‘First power is a key milestone for us because it proves that every part of the transmission and generation equipment is successfully working.’

DONG Energy has been operating out of Liverpool Bay for a decade. Its Burbo Bank offshore wind farm was inaugurated in 2007 and was the first to use the 3.6 MW wind turbines now used widely across the industry. Now, construction of Burbo Bank Extension, is being managed from DONG Energy’s facilities at the Cammell Laird Shipyard site in Birkenhead.

Last, Darlington-based DeepOcean has won a contract to transport and install cables for DONG Energy’s Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm, which will be the biggest in the world. Located 120 km off the Yorkshire Coast, Hornsea Project One will be the first wind farm in history with a capacity of over 1 GW, and be capable of supplying electricity to well over a million homes.

DONG Energy says it has signed contracts with UK companies for other major components of the wind farm including offshore cables, the offshore reactive compensation station and the onshores substation. 

Photo: One of the 8 MW Vestas wind turbines at Burbo Bank Extension