Siemens to supply southern Ontario with 124 wind turbines

(Photo: Siemens)

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Siemens Canada has been awarded an order by Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. and Pattern Energy Group LP to supply 124 wind turbines in the Chatham-Kent municipality in southern Ontario.

The investments in the project are expected to top $100 million, and the turbines will be built in the. They are expected to generate enough energy for up to 100,000 Ontario homes.

All the blades for the project will be manufactured by Siemens at their facility in Tillsonburg, Ontario. Additional hiring is expected to help fill the order, and it’s expected up to 600 jobs will be created in the province.

The Tillsonburg plant is the first production facility of its kind in the province.

The towers for the project will be manufactured at CS Wind's facility in Windsor using Ontario-made steel.

"The approval of South Kent is a huge win for wind in Canada and we're excited to be moving forward with our partners and to ramping up production in Tillsonburg,” stated Jacob Andersen, Vice President, Wind Power at Siemens Canada.

The SWT-2.3-101 turbines to be installed for the project have a maximum power rating of up to 2.3 megawatts (MW) each and a rotor diameter of 101 metres at a hub-height of 99.5 metres.

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, Canada is the ninth largest producer of wind energy in the world with current installed capacity at roughly 6,500 MW.

Installation of the wind turbines for the South Kent project is scheduled to begin this year, with the start of operations expected for spring 2014.

The deal also includes a three-year service agreement.