Wind Power
wind
power
Innovation and Expansion
for the Future
Siemens’ Wind Power Division
CEO Felix Ferlemann: ready
to take onshore and offshore
to the next level.
Siemens Wind Power division
CEO Felix Ferlemann: A rare
break in the challenging
­action of taking onshore and
offshore to the next level.
The last time you stepped outside and felt a strong blast
of air hit your face on a gusty day, it may suddenly have
­occurred to you: This is an energy resource – free to utilize
and without danger of depletion – that the world should
be paying more attention to. Siemens is doing just that,
­utilizing new technology to reduce costs, improve reliability
and streamline renewable energy production.
Text: Haig Simonian Photos: Sonja Tobias
Living Energy · No. 7 | November 2012 41
Wind Power
Wind Power
“Although offshore is still only
a fraction of the total market, it will
be the fastest growing.”
Felix Ferlemann, CEO of Siemens’ Wind Power Division
S
iemens has reorganized its renewable energy activities, elevating wind power into an independent division in recognition of its
size and potential. Felix Ferlemann,
the Division’s new CEO, was brought
in from the outside corporate sector
to help build Siemens’ already strong
market presence in wind power. Living
Energy spoke with him recently about
the opportunities and challenges of
aligning the business to a swiftly changing energy environment.
How important is wind today
in the energy mix?
There are currently about 240 gigawatts of wind generating power
­worldwide. More than 40 gigawatts
are being added each year, so there’s
immense potential as countries look
increasingly to renewables. We expect
wind to be the fastest-growing segment for commercial technologies in
the energy mix. That’s especially true
for countries such as Germany that
are moving away from nuclear power.
Making up the ­difference simply won’t
be possible without wind.
Within wind, you have to distinguish
between onshore and offshore. So far,
onshore installations have had the
­lion’s share, with offshore accounting
for only about 4 gigawatts of the total
installations. Onshore will remain
the dominant market, but while we forecast less than 5 percent growth for
­onshore, we expect offshore wind demand to surge by 20 percent annually.
42 Living Energy · No. 7 | November 2012
Why is that?
It’s obviously easier to build on dry
land than at sea. Plus, a lot of countries, such as the USA and China, still
have vast areas available onshore.
By contrast, we in Europe are more
densely populated, have less free
land, and have already used part of
what’s suitable. Until now, offshore
projects have tended to be in places
like the UK and Denmark, with Germany and France catching up fast.
About half of our business comprises
onshore installations in America. Onequarter is onshore in northwest Europe and the rest of the world. The remaining quarter is offshore, which
is the segment we expect to grow disproportionately. We offer turbines for
onshore and offshore locations, with
onshore tending to stay at a certain
level in size and offshore getting a lot
bigger. And we offer either geared
turbines or with direct drive.
What are the relative merits
of onshore and offshore?
As I said before, building onshore is
easier. The foundations are much simpler and transportation costs far lower.
The equipment doesn’t need to meet
the special requirements of being at
sea, with higher winds, salt water and
generally tougher conditions, along
with more complex installation. You
also need undersea cables to transmit
the power generated. And maintenance costs can be higher.
But offshore has great merits. Wind
farms at sea are generally more productive, because of more constant and
stronger winds. You can also build
bigger – that’s particularly important
in Europe, where there are severe restrictions inland. The size of wind turbines can be significantly larger and
rotors bigger. Although offshore is
still only a fraction of the total market,
it will be the fastest growing. There’s
a lot of potential.
Where is the technology heading?
The trend is for bigger turbines and
direct drive, on which we’re putting
a lot of emphasis. Direct-drive wind
­turbines don’t need gearboxes. That
means about 50 percent fewer moving
parts, improving reliability and reducing weight and maintenance –
­especially important factors offshore,
where access can be difficult and expensive. Direct drive is also about
­one-third lighter, another boon, especially offshore, where the special
ships required for transportation and
the cranes for heavy lifting can be
very costly. We’re talking about up to
350 tonnes. Installation and maintenance are key cost factors offshore.
Power ratings are rising steadily.
Our latest offshore model, already
­operating on-site as a prototype, generates 6 megawatts compared with
3.6 for its predecessor. The same is
happening ­onshore, with generating
capacity up to 3 megawatts from 2.3.
I see capacities rising further and
­offshore wind turbines becoming increasingly price effective.
Big design improvements are also
likely. We’re still at the start when
it comes to the aerodynamic efficiency
of rotor blades. And towers also have
immense potential. Until now, size
and height have been determined by
transport constraints. We have ideas
for more modular towers that could be
shipped out more easily but still allow
significantly greater size, while simplifying the need for pilings. There are
a lot of concepts out there.
How is Siemens positioned?
Over the years, we’ve installed about
11,000 wind turbines around the
world, generating 16 gigawatts of
electricity. Last year alone, we installed
2.9 gigawatts. Our oldest turbine is
more than 30 years old and still going
strong. We’re leading in offshore,
with a strategic goal to retain that
leadership.
Business Highlights
Siemens is a leading supplier of offshore wind power turbines with
more than
720 wind turbines
2,100 megawatts
with a combined
capacity of more than
installed.
The Hywind project, the world’s first floating wind turbine, was jointly launched in
2009 by Siemens and Statoil. The Hywind turbine can be installed in water depths
­between
120 700 meters,
and
thus opening new
­opportunities for ­offshore wind power.
In 2010, Siemens opened two new factories in Shanghai, China, and Kansas, USA.
The company plans additional factories in Canada, the UK, and other markets.
Since the beginning of this decade, the nacelles for Siemens 2.3-megawatt
wind turbines have been built utilizing a moving assembly line – the first of its kind
in the ­industry. So far, the assembly time per nacelle has been reduced
from
36 15 hours,
to
with the number of workstations ­reduced
from 18 to 8.
There are three direct-drive wind turbines on offer from Siemens featuring increased
performance with
50 percent
fewer parts: SWT-3.0-101,
SWT-2.3-113 and the ­SWT-6.0-120/154 for ­offshore sites.
The first major blade technology advancement by Siemens came in 2000 with the development of the IntegralBlade® process. Since then, Siemens is the only wind turbine
manufacturer to use blades cast in one piece in a closed ­process. The latest turbine
generation from Siemens has a capacity of 6 ­megawatts, and uses the B75 blade,
its rotor diameter of
154 meters
is truly awe inspiring.
Living Energy · No. 7 | November 2012 43
Wind Power
Wind Power
That all sounds great. But will wind
power ever be competitive compared with traditional sources?
Wind is already the most competitively priced of all renewables except for
large hydropower plants. We’re nearly
competitive with conventional sources
of power generation when you take
new installations into consideration.
Efficiency has been continually rising,
and costs are falling. The industry
has managed to lower electricity production costs by 40 percent every ten
years.
Wind’s disadvantage is that it still
needs subsidies when priced against
existing power sources. Our strategic
aim for the years ahead is to become
fully competitive. For onshore wind,
we expect that by the end of the decade.
Haig Simonian (left)
and Felix Ferlemann
discuss the future
­potential for wind
power.
Felix Ferlemann
Background
Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in
1960, Felix Ferlemann is a graduate
of the renowned Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University (RWTH) in
Aachen, Germany, where he majored
in mechanical engineering.
Professional Experience
and Education
Ferlemann’s background is in automotive and production engineering.
He worked for a number of leading
44 Living Energy · No. 7 | November 2012
manufacturing corporations and automotive industry suppliers in Liechtenstein, China and Germany before taking
over as CEO of Siemens’ Wind Power
­Division in October 2011.
He says he finds renewables “fascinating.” He believes he can make a significant contribution thanks to his long
years in the automotive industry, adding
that “there are a lot of related techniques
that can be introduced.”
How will that be possible?
We must get better at reducing costs.
We have to move faster than before
because we can’t rely on endless subsidies. We as an industry must commit ourselves to a clear road map for
when we can become fully competitive. It’s true our industry is still young.
But a change of thinking is required
as the conditions have altered amid
much greater financial pressure on
governments and customers.
I see two areas for action. First, there’s
scope for much greater innovation
and industrialization to cut production
costs. My background is in the automotive industry, where costs have been
reduced relentlessly through platforms, modularization and other techniques to simplify and streamline
manufacturing. I see 20–30 percent
cost savings potential in wind.
“Investors will only take the
plunge if there are predictable
circumstances.”
Felix Ferlemann, CEO of Siemens’ Wind Power Division
But production accounts only for a
share of the total costs – offshore less
than 50 percent. The rest comes from
transportation, installation and connection. There is significant scope
there, too. Take ships used for transportation, for example. Most are designed for offshore oil and gas, not
wind. Real savings can come from specifically designed vessels. We must
do our job as wind turbine manufacturers, but there is scope for others
too, which we want to advance
through partnerships.
­ lectricity prices. And in Germany
e
­especially, we must simplify the regulatory labyrinth for offshore wind
power plants. There are currently
dozens of separate authorities – they
need to sit together and coordinate
much more for decisions on wind issues.
Haig Simonian is a freelance business and
t­ echnology journalist based in Switzerland.
He was formerly a longtime correspondent for
the ­Financial Times, covering Switzerland
and Austria.
What about governments?
We need stable conditions to persuade investors to take the plunge.
They will only do so if there are predictable circumstances. So we need
clearer commitments from governments. Experience in Spain, where
subsidies were suddenly cut, shows
the dangers of volatility. We also need
further investment in electricity grids
to handle the power becoming available. In Germany, and to some extent
Europe, we need a much stronger grid
infrastructure for regional electricity
flows. Significant wind power is going
to be generated in the north, but it
needs to be taken south. One day, solar power, predominantly from the
south, will need to travel north. Governments have to create the right
­conditions for stimulating necessary
investment through appropriate
Living Energy · No. 7 | November 2012 45