The Smart Wind consortium, led by Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream Renewable Power, has won a major contract from the Crown Estate to develop one of the nine €111 billion wind farm zones off of the UK coast.
Siemens Project Ventures, the project finance division of Siemens Financial Services, will work with renewable energy firm Mainstream Renewable Power to develop 4GW of wind farms by 2020 in the ‘Hornsea’ zone, off of the Yorkshire coast.
A special purpose vehicle, Smart Wind Limited, was set up by the two companies, in which both hold a 50 percent stake.
The manufacturing arm of Siemens is expected to supply wind turbines and offshore substations, with the first project expected to be ready for construction by 2014.
“The bidding consortium is an ideal combination of the development experience as well as financial capacities of both partners,” said Wolfgang Bischoff, chief executive of Siemens Project Ventures.
Jason T Hesse
