SIEMENS

Wind power generation is a relatively new technology. It was only 30 years ago, in 1979, that the first wind turbine — with an output of 22 kW — entered service in Denmark. Today, these zero-emission generation units can produce well over 100 times that output, in addition to also achieving a maximum efficiency of 45 %. So no one should be surprised that the wind turbine business is booming, especially with the looming threat of climate change and the general depletion of resources that the world is experiencing. Energy from the wind is also rapidly becoming more popular in the U.S. — not least because the country's new administration has set itself the goal of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the U.S. electricity mix to 25 % by 2025. By comparison, the share of electricity from such sources was only 2.5 % in 2007, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Nevertheless, the conditions required for this tremendous shift are in place. The U.S. is already the world's largest wind energy market — and Siemens is one of that market's leading suppliers.

Siemens has installed wind power facilities with a combined output of more than 2,700 MW in the U.S. to date; in business year 2008 alone, the company was awarded contracts for the installation of 1,500 MW of output. Orders here include 130 units, each with an output of 2.3 MW, to be delivered to two wind parks in Washington State, and 141 units of the same size that will be set up at Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Oregon. The combined total output of these units is enough to provide 180,000 American households with environmentally-friendly electricity.

In September 2007, Siemens put into operation its first U.S. rotor blade factory in Fort Madison, Iowa, in order to more effectively meet the country's growing demand for wind power. Since then, the facility has been producing around 600 rotor blades per year for the U.S. market. Each of these blades is 45 m long and weighs 12 t. The plant has already reached the limits of its manufacturing capacity, which it is now planned to double.

Siemens also recently commissioned the construction of a new research and development center in Boulder, Colorado. Work at the center will be focused on improving the aerodynamics, static properties, and reliability of Siemens' wind turbines, thereby further consolidating the company's leadership in the U.S. wind energy sector.