Siemens has announced an order for the supply of wind turbines, medium-voltage switchgear for optimal grid compatibility and a long-term service contract for 20 years.
Specifically, Siemens will supply three direct-drive SWT-3.2-113 wind turbines for the onshore wind power plant Naundorf, adding approximately 10 MW to the wind power plant’s capacity for a total of almost 42 MW.
Further, Siemens will utilize its medium-voltage switchgear located in the turbine towers, which will enable the three turbines to connect and disconnect themselves to the grid in time-staggered periods.
The 14 MW Naundorf wind power plant, located between Dresden and Leipzig in the district of Nordsachsen, was connected to the grid for the first time in 2004. In the following years, the plant’s capacity was expanded by an additional 6 MW and, in 2015, by another 14.4 MW.
Installation of the three SWT-3.2-113 turbines, mounted on steel towers with hub heights of 92.5 meters, is scheduled to begin in the fall; operation of the three wind turbines and their medium-voltage switchgear will start in early 2017. Once operational, the Naundorf onshore wind power plant will provide clean energy to almost 10,000 citizens.
According to Siemens, the automatic switchgear, a so-called “auto-reclosing-system,” will be crucial for expanding the Naundorf wind power plant. All wind turbines at the site use one grid access point, which is connected to the local medium-voltage grid. The company states that overloads are avoided by staggering the turbine’s energy feed into the grid in defined stages.
“Siemens was the right technology partner for this matter,” says Gustav Brzyszcz, head of Wind 2000 GmbH, which developed the project. “We were able to choose from a broad range of solutions, from energy production to power transmission, and found the most suitable component for our needs.”
