POWER January 2011 - 51

POWER VIEWS
Siemens Energy Introduces
Efficient and Flexible
Products in 2011
Dr. Michael Weinhold, chief technology officer of Siemens Energy, discusses the
company's 2011 business plans and the role of the smart grid in the future's energy
infrastructure.
S
iemens Energy calls itself the " only
supplier worldwide with comprehensive
know-how encompassing
the entire energy conversion chain. "
Peltier: What innovations in the
company's 2011 product line
should we expect?
Weinhold: Expect to see a number of
milestone products in 2011. For example,
the Siemens Energy Sector (Siemens) will
commission the Irsching 4 combined-cycle
power plant, located near Ingolstadt, Germany,
based on the world's most powerful
gas turbine, the 375-MW SGT5-8000H.
The plant will have an industry-leading
efficiency of more than 60% while producing
570 MW. Siemens has also entered
the U.S. market with the new generation
of energy-efficient H-class gas turbines.
Starting in 2012, six of the turbines will be
in operation for Florida Power & Light for
the modernization of its Riviera Beach and
Cape Canaveral Next Generation Clean
Energy Centers. Each plant will feature
three 274-MW SGT6-8000H gas turbines.
Providing much-improved operating flexibility,
this combustion turbine can go from
standby to start-up in 5 minutes and reach
full power operation in only 15 minutes.
We also received our first order for a
" Flex-Plant " combined-cycle plant from
Northern California Power Agency. The 280MW
power plant will be located in Lodi,
California. The concept of a flexible design
is unique because of its fast-start capability:
The plant is designed to deliver approximately
200 MW to the grid within only 30 minutes,
several times a day. These short start-up
times also reduce plant emissions.
We also just launched a new combustion
turbine-the SGT-750-in November 2010,
a perfect addition to our combustion turbine
portfolio. With an output of 37 MW, the SGT750
will fulfill an increasing market demand
for industrial applications.
Siemens will also supply gas turbine
packages to a coal-fired integrated gasifi50
cation
combined-cycle plant that will be
located in Liberty, Mississippi. Tenaska,
one of the largest U.S. independent power
producers, chose Siemens to provide the
coal gasification technology for its Taylorville
Energy Center. With a gross capacity
of 730 MW, the advanced clean coal
generating plant will be one of the first
commercial-scale coal gasification plants
with carbon capture and storage capability
in the U.S.
Siemens' wind business is on track to become
one of the world's top three suppliers of
wind turbines by 2012, is already one of the
top three in the U.S., and is already ranked
number one in offshore wind. For example,
Siemens has signed an agreement with Cape
Wind for the supply of 130 3.6-MW offshore
wind turbines for the first offshore wind
farm in the U.S. Cape Wind will be located
on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound off
Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Siemens' wind power portfolio includes a
range of high-efficiency wind turbines suited
for onshore and offshore applications. Two
examples: The SWT-3.0-101 wind turbine
with a 3-MW power capacity has a rotor diameter
of 101 meters and offers an innovative
direct drive concept using a permanent
magnet generator. Compared to a standard
wind turbine with gearboxes, Siemens was
able to reduce the number of parts in the turbine
by half. With fewer moving parts, the
direct drive technology has the potential to
significantly reduce maintenance time, increase
turbine availability, and be positioned
both on- and off-shore. The first three machines,
sold to Oklahoma Gas & Electric as
part of their 227-MW Crossroads wind power
plant, are scheduled for delivery in April.
On the second project, Siemens teamed with
Statoil to develop a floating wind turbine-
Hywind-designed for installation in water
depths between 120 and 700 meters.
Siemens is deeply committed to developing
the wind business in North America,
as shown by our construction of a new
production facility in Hutchinson, Kanwww.powermag.com
sas,
that started producing nacelles in December
2010. We also recently expanded
our blade manufacturing facilities in Fort
Madison, Iowa, and announced last August
that Siemens will construct a blade manufacturing
facility in Canada.
Siemens has also heavily invested in the
two solar technologies: photovoltaics and solar
thermal power plants. Siemens is the clear
market leader for steam turbines for parabolic
trough power plants-a key component
for solar thermal power plants. The demands
on the steam turbine are unique, as it must be
able to start up quickly when the sun rises in
the morning and flexibly adapt to the variable
thermal input during the day. Siemens has decisively
strengthened its portfolio in the field
of concentrated solar power plants with the
acquisition of Solel Solar. Today, Siemens is
the only company capable of supplying twothirds
of a solar thermal power plant from a
single source.
Siemens is optimizing efficiency along
the whole energy chain, including power
plants with an outstanding efficiency factor;
long-distance, low-loss, high-voltage
direct current transmission systems; moreefficient
methods of electric power distribution
in cities; and highly sophisticated
energy management systems for buildings.
Siemens has also promised to invest up to
around €100 million through the end of
2012 to make its factories greener and is
working with over one thousand of its suppliers
to improve their environmental and
energy-efficiency records.
Peltier: The global economic
and financial crisis that reduced
power demand and tightened
credit caused markets for large
power generation equipment to
hit rock bottom. How did your
company fare?
Weinhold: Despite the economic crisis,
the Siemens Energy Sector achieved record
results in the past fiscal year. In fiscal 2010
(ended September 30), the Energy Sector
POWER | January 2011
http://www.powermag.com
POWER January 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER January 2011
