Cape Wind signs deal for offshore turbines
By Jay Fitzgerald / Globe Correspondent / December 23, 2013
Cape Wind Associates has finalized a major deal with a unit of Siemens AG to provide the giant wind turbines, offshore transformer, and maintenance of its planned 130-turbine wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod.
Cape Wind is still trying to nail down federal tax-credits worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in order to proceed with the long-delayed and controversial project, which has been vehemently opposed by various groups and homeowners on the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard.
A spokesman for Cape Wind said today that officials expect the project will be eligible for federal investment tax credits, even if the credits technically expire on Dec. 31 for other wind farms. The firm expects to nail down financing in the second or third quarter of next year, clearing the way for construction soon after, said the spokesman.
The deal announced today with Siemens Energy Inc., a unit of Siemens AG, the world’s largest offshore wind turbine manufacturer, appears to signal Cape Wind’s confidence that the more than $2.5 billion wind-farm project will finally get off the ground one way or the other.
Under the agreement announced today, Siemens would provide the 3.6-megawatt offshore wind turbines, an offshore Electric Service Platform that acts as a transformer for the power generated by the turbines. Siemens will also provide 15 years of maintenance service for the wind farm under the agreement. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Siemens is subcontracting the manufacturing of the electric service platform to Cianbro, a Maine engineering, construction, and manufacturing firm. The platform will be fabricated in Cianbro’s facility in Brewer, Maine.
If all goes well, the construction of the wind farm could be completed in 2016, company officials said.
“As the global leader in offshore wind power, Siemens is extremely pleased to be the supplier for America’s first-ever offshore wind farm,” stated Randy Zwirn, chief executive of Siemens Energy, Inc.
“This is a significant milestone for this project and we’re excited about it,” said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, whose administration has pushed hard to get Cape Wind built. “Massachusetts will be a pioneer in the emerging offshore wind industry, which brings with it both clean energy and good jobs.”