Siemens’ Wind Power and Renewables Division has been awarded two new orders for onshore wind projects in Ontario, Canada — projects that will have the capacity to power more than 100,000 homes.
Announced on Thursday, Siemens will provide the turbines, installation, and commissioning of 137 2.3 MW turbines to two separate Ontario wind projects — 180 MW Armow Wind project, and the 100 MW Cedar Point II project.
“The two orders further demonstrate that Canada is one of our most important wind markets in the Americas region,” says Markus Tacke, CEO of Siemens’ Wind Power and Renewables Division. “Ontario’s continuous commitment to innovation and sustainable energy management has contributed to local economic growth and viable, affordable and sustainable wind energy for Canadians.”
The two projects are split accordingly:
- The Armow Wind project — being developed by Samsung Renewable Energy Inc.’s and Pattern Energy Group LP’s — will receive 91 SWT-2.3-101 turbines
- The SunCor Energy Cedar Point II project will receive 46 SWT-2.3-113 turbines
The Siemens’ contract is good news for Ontario on several levels: Not only will the project provide clean energy for more than 100,000 Ontario homes, but all 411 turbine blades will be manufactured at the Siemens blade facility in Tilsonburg, Ontario, supporting local industry as well as providing clean energy.
Siemens is invested heavily across all fields of renewable energy, and claims that approximately 43% of its total revenue comes from green products and solutions.
That doesn’t mean that Siemens is jumping feet-first into bed with clean energy, as was reported earlier this year. Siemens believes that fossil fuel is a necessary part of the energy mix, and will be for the next two decades.
“You can run Germany on renewable energy on a sunny day when the wind is blowing, but you will still need coal [on other days],” said Roland Busch, Siemens chief executive. “Regardless of how much you push [renewable energy] in the next years you will still have a certain share of energy coming from fossil fuels. We are trying to make that more efficient, more low-carbon, with our technologies.”
In one way, seeing a company such as Siemens so clearly outline their investment strategy is a good thing. Siemens isn’t afraid of criticism for remaining invested in fossil fuels, but they are as heavily involved in pushing the clean energy industry forward as any other entity.
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