Siemens receives order for Ontario's largest wind farm

- Recently, Siemens Energy announced a major wind turbine and service order. Along with the South Kent Wind Farm in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, the 270-MW K2 Wind Ontario K2 Wind Project will be among the largest wind power plants in Canada.

It is located in Goderich in southwestern Ontario and will feature 140 units of the Siemens SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines. The project owners are Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. Samsung, Capital Power LP and Pattern Energy Group LP Pattern Development. The transaction includes a long-term service and maintenance agreement, ensuring the reliability, availability and performance of the turbines.

K2 Wind will generate clean power for 100,000 Ontario homes with commercial operation expected in mid-2015. The blades for the project will be manufactured at the Siemens blade facility in Tillsonburg, Ontario. Towers for the project will also be produced locally in Canada. The nacelles will be assembled at Siemens' U.S. factory in Hutchinson, Kansas.

"Canada is one of the most important wind markets in the Americas," says Mark Albenze, CEO of Siemens Energy's Wind Power Onshore Americas business. "We are proud to once again collaborate with the leading players in this market to bring renewable, clean and reliable energy to the homes and businesses of Canadian residents."

"This is an important announcement for Siemens, their partners and the local communities that will greatly impact Ontario's economy while demonstrating the province's commitment to clean energy," underlines the Honourable Bob Chiarelli, Ontario Minister of Energy.

"K2 Wind will be an important addition to Ontario's renewable energy fleet with 270 MWs of clean power generation being built in one of Ontario's key wind areas," says Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Development. "Along with Samsung and Capital Power, we are proud to develop a world-class wind project that is particularly exciting because we are hiring locally and using turbine blades and towers made in Ontario."

According to figures provided by CanWEA, the Canadian wind energy market is growing at a rapid rate and Canada is now the ninth largest producer of wind energy in the world with current installed capacity at roughly 7,800 MW. Siemens Energy is contributing to this growth and holds a leading position in the Ontario market with over 1 GW of installed capacity.

Wind power and energy service are part of Siemens' Environmental Portfolio. Around 43 percent of its total revenue stems from green products and solutions. That makes Siemens one of the world's leading providers of eco-friendly technology.