Vestas has received a firm and unconditional order for 110 V100-2.0 MW wind turbines in the USA and increases the potential of the master supply agreement with EDF announced in September 2013 from 750 MW to 1,174 MW.
This order is a call off of the master supply agreement (MSA) announced in September for multiple U.S. projects, the potential of which has been increased from 750 MW to 1,174 MW. So far, Vestas has secured 300 MW in this MSA.
Both projects, Hereford 1 and Longhorn North, are located in the Texas Panhandle. The Hereford 1 project will feature 50 V100-2.0 MW turbines, while the 200 MW Longhorn North project will include 100 units of the same turbine (80 MWs were previously announced ref. company announcement No. 38/2013 of 13 September 2013). Deliveries and commissioning for both projects are expected to occur in the second half of 2014.
“Vestas looks forward to working with EDF Renewable Energy to build more clean-energy projects in Texas. It’s one of the strongest wind-power markets in the world, and where we have already supplied turbines to nine major wind power plants in the state,” said Chris Brown, President of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada. “This order also will help to create more American jobs at our blade, tower and nacelle factories in Colorado.”
“We are pleased to be working with Vestas to bring additional Texas wind projects online over the next 18 months,” said Ryan Pfaff, Executive Vice President at EDF Renewably Energy. “The Hereford 1 and Longhorn North projects will not only provide affordable, clean energy to the Texas grid, but also provide an economic boost to the local communities surrounding the projects, in the form of new jobs, local taxes, and other direct and indirect benefits.”
To meet customer demand, Vestas is adding more workers at three of its Colorado factories – the blade factory in Windsor as well as the blade and nacelle factories in Brighton. Vestas is recruiting now and expects to add hundreds of production workers in the first half of 2014 in Windsor and Brighton, primarily at the two blade factories. Interested candidates can apply at ElwoodWindJobs.com.
The two projects will feature a multi-year Active Output Management (AOM) 5000 service agreement for at least three years. AOM 5000 is an energy-based availability guarantee that ensures the turbines are operational when the wind is blowing. This service option includes the VestasOnline® surveillance system that remotely controls and monitors the turbines and predicts potential wear-and-tear issues. This allows Vestas to plan maintenance so the turbines operate with the minimum amount of lost production.
In 2013, Vestas has announced over 1.4 GW of orders in the United States and Canada among four turbine types.
Since 1979, Vestas has supplied more than 50,000 wind turbines and over 58 GW in 73 countries – 62 percent more than its closest competitor. Vestas entered the U.S. market in 1981, selling its first wind turbine for a project in California. Since then, the company has delivered 12,396 turbines to the United States and 1,419 to Canada. Combined, Vestas’ installed capacity is 13,387 MW in 28 U.S. states and every Canadian province – enough to power about four million households. Vestas employs about 16,000 people worldwide including 2,500 throughout the United States and Canada at four manufacturing facilities in Colorado, service and construction sites, and sales offices. Vestas’ U.S. and Canadian sales and service headquarters is in Portland, Ore., and its global headquarters is in Aarhus, Denmark.
| Customer: | EDF Renewable Energy |
| Project names: | The Hereford 1 and Longhorn North wind power plants |
| Location/Country: | Texas, USA |
| Number of MW: | 220 MW |
| Number of turbines/turbine type | 110 x V100-2.0 MW |
| Contract type: | Supply-only |
| Contract scope: | The order includes supply and commissioning of the wind turbines, as well as at least a three-year Active Output Management (AOM) 5000 service agreement for both projects. |
| Time of delivery | Deliveries for both projects are expected to occur in the second half of 2014 while commissioning will be in the first half of 2015. |
Total year-to-date announced order intake in MW: 4,761 MW, (see vestas.com/investor).