Siemens’ entry into China’s wind energy market
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Siemens is expanding its global wind turbine manufacturing network with the erection of a new production facility in Lingang New City in Shanghai, marking the company’s entry into China’s wind energy market. Siemens Wind Power Blades (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., with an initial investment of RMB 581 million (EUR 64 million), will be able to more effectively meet the strong demand for wind turbine equipment in China as well as the export market after its operation in the second half of 2010. Mr. Ai Baojun, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal Government, Mr. Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy Sector and Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, and Dr. Richard Hausmann, CEO Siemens North East Asia, and President and CEO of Siemens Ltd., China laid the cornerstone of the new production plant.
“Siemens is laying its foothold in the fast-growing wind energy market in China with this new wind turbine production facility in Shanghai,” said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy Sector and Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG on today’s ceremony. “We are also rigorously advancing the internationalization of our manufacturing network for wind turbines to optimally meet the needs of our customers in Asia, Europe and America.”
With a total space of 180,000 square meters, the new production site is situated at an excellent location with regard to shipping and traffic facilities, being in the direct vicinity of the Yang Shan deep-sea harbor. Siemens will initially produce blades for 2.3 and 3.6 MW wind turbine plants. These blades will be produced using the IntegralBlade® process patented by Siemens, without any glued joints that are susceptible to damage. Wind turbine plant nacelles will be produced at this new plant at a later stage. A nacelle is mounted on the top of the tower and supports the rotor as well as encloses the wind turbine plant’s major components; these include the gearbox, the drive train as well as the control electronics.
The production capacity for the new facility is initially planned at 500 MW annually. The first wind turbine blades and nacelles are scheduled to leave the plant during the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. Siemens has already reserved additional space in Lingang for potential expansion of this production facility.
China has witnessed leapfrogging development of wind energy in the past few years. By end of 2008, wind power capacity of China reached 12.21 GW, accounting for 10% of the world total and the fourth largest in the world. Wind energy is expected to grow by 30% annually in China until up to 2015. In February, the government has called for further development of renewable energy, including wind energy, as one of country’s strategic measures to cope with the economic crisis. “China could soon become the largest wind energy market in the world. We are thus intensifying our commitment to this green technology to further expand our leading global position in this field,” said Dr. Richard Hausmann, CEO Siemens North East Asia and President & CEO of Siemens Ltd., China. “We are already the leading green infrastructure giant. By making this investment, we are making a bold step forward to the goal of 40% order intake from our environmental portfolio by 2010.”
Since Siemens entered the market for wind turbine plants through the acquisition of the Danish company Bonus Energy in 2004, it has substantially expanded its worldwide fabrication capacities. Plans for erection of a new facility for wind turbine plants in Hutchinson, Kansas (USA) were just recently announced by Siemens. Siemens also recently established rotor blade fabrication facilities in Fort Madison, Iowa (USA) and in Engesvang, Denmark. The Danish locations Brande and Aalborg have additionally been expanded and new research and development centers have also been set up in Germany, Holland, Great Britain, the USA and Denmark. Today Siemens is the global market leader for offshore wind energy.
Wind power is an important feature of Siemens’ environmental portfolio. In 2008, revenue from the products and solutions of Siemens’ environmental portfolio was nearly EUR19 billion, which is equivalent to around a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue. In 2008, Siemens China announced that more than half of its EUR 1 billion mid-term investment will go to energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies and solutions.
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