Showing Siemens Gamesa’s commitment to the Spanish market, most of the turbines were designed and manufactured in plants within the country, which helped to create local employment and boost the supply chain. In total, turbines were supplied to 15 customers in 30 wind farms located in the Spanish regions of Aragon, Andalucia, Galicia, Castille and León, and Navarre.
“We start the year with some very good news! Achieving this record in Spain was made possible thanks to the daily work and commitment of our staff. Their engagement is fundamental to achieving such important milestones as this,” affirmed Enrique Pedrosa, Onshore Chief Regions Officer.
Of all of the turbines supplied, over 80% were the SG 3.4-132 model, one of the company’s most efficient, with a rotor diameter of 132 meters and nominal power of more than 3 MW. Siemens Gamesa is supplying machines with increasingly larger rotors as it transitions to its 4.X platform.
The aim is to contribute to a future powered by clean, affordable, reliable, and infinite electricity. These wind turbines combined make it possible to cover the energy needs of nearly one million homes. In addition, they prevent the emission of 3 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, and offset the same amount of emissions as 50 million trees.
“I think we are not yet aware of the incredible record we have achieved in Spain: the installation of 1.2 GW in one year, with a high degree of customer satisfaction, is something very few companies can do,” said Roberto Sabalza, CEO Onshore SE&A. “Three out of four turbines installed in Spain in 2019 were Siemens Gamesa turbines, which shows how we are consolidating our leadership in Spain,” he affirmed.
According to Roberto, this achievement is important for a number of reasons. “First, it shows we have some incredible teams that have demonstrated their ability to work hard and efficiently – this combination is the key to success. Second, this record installation had a very positive impact on operations and job creation in Spain, as suppliers are mainly local. And third – and this is very important as well – with this 1.2 GW of new wind power, we must be very proud of our contribution to the energy transition in Spain, the reduction of CO2 emissions in our country, and finally to the sustainability of our world.” The logistic challenge Installing 1.2 GW in just one year was a special challenge for the Construction department.
“Managing such a large amount of resources in such a short period of time has not been an easy task at all, but we have delivered on time thanks to the amazing team effort and dedication,” says Construction Manager Stephane Jacob.
The numbers are impressive: a total of 15 different main cranes from seven different companies – six from Spain and one foreign company – and 17 different assembly teams. “Coordinating all these different suppliers to make sure we were meeting our deadlines was an incredible puzzle,” added Stephane. In total, the Construction teams have dedicated more than 850,000 hours to the installation of the 1.2 GW.
Ballestas and Casetona It’s difficult to select specific projects to highlight among all of the intense activity carried out in 2019, but if we have to focus on one of them in particular, it would be the Ballestas and Casetona wind farm. Located in the province of Burgos, it has an installed capacity of 69.3 MW, with a total of 20 model SG3.4-132 (114m) wind turbines.
Eneko Díez, Program Director Onshore SE&A, outlined the complexity of the project. “It is a Siemens Gamesa WFS (Wind Farm Solutions) project, which means that Siemens Gamesa has been in charge from the outset of every aspect through the whole processes, from the installation of the wind mast to the validation of the wind resources and the location, as well as the development phase, including closing the agreements with the landowners, authorities, and the utility. Also, the construction of the whole infrastructure – the Engineering Procurement, and Construction contract – and the connection to the grid, the commissioning phase, and finally the sale of the wind farm to a relevant utility were all in scope,” said Eneko.
For Eneko, one of the biggest challenges was the grid connection. “We needed to adapt in a very short period of time the existing high voltage line connection to be able to absorb the new power capacity. The whole team involved in Ballestas and Casetona, the largest Wind Farm Solutions project in 2019, should be very proud of the great work done on a very complex project with tight deadlines,” he explained.
