DONG and Siemens buy 50% of Lincs wind project

Siemens and DONG Energy have signed a joint contract to acquire 50 per cent ownership of the wind farm project Lincs, originally developed by the UK-based energy firm Centrica. The combined 50 per cent share of the energy project represents a capital investment of about £375 million.

The Lincs offshore wind farm, which has a forecasted capacity of at least 270MW, is situated 8kms off the coast of Skegness in Lincolnshire. The green project is now in the final design and procurement phase.

The construction of Lincs is likely to begin in the late summer of next year, with the commissioning set for 2012. The project is expected to meet the annual power needs of 200,000 households and significantly lessen carbon emissions.

Siemens will supply 75 turbines for the project. The company informed that the turbines to be used will be the latest version in the market, with 120-metre rotors.

The energy firm was also selected as the design-build contractor for Lincs’ grid connection. CEO Wolfgang Dehen said that the Lincs project supports Siemens’ goal to grow faster to become one of the world’s top suppliers in the wind power market by 2012.

In other related news, DONG revealed that it had earlier signed an agreement to sell 25.1 per cent of its 367MW Walney wind farm project for £39 million to Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). Walney’s construction phase is due to begin in spring, with commercial operations to start in the first half of 2011. DONG will supervise the construction of the wind farm, while Siemens will supply the turbines.