Alstom yesterday signed its first export contract with Deepwater Wind, the U.S. offshore wind developer. Under the contract, Alstom will provide five Haliade™ 150-6 MW wind turbines for the Block Island offshore wind farm.
The contract also includes 15 years of operation and maintenance support for the Block Island offshore wind farm.
Alstom underlines the importance of this project as the first to support the export of offshore wind turbines from France. It will leverage the French industrial base Alstom is developing, the company states. Moreover, this U.S. offshore wind farm represents an important technological step for the Haliade 150-6MW, as it will enable Alstom to develop its offshore technology to the point where it can launch serial production. The company already has installed two of these wind turbines in Europe – one onshore at le Carnet site (in the western region of France), and the other in Ostend, Belgium.
Under the wind turbine supply contract, Deepwater Wind made an initial multi-million dollar payment to Alstom in December 2013 that allowed Alstom to begin the manufacturing process for the turbines. Specifically, Alstom has begun procurement of all 15 blades for the wind farm, which will be delivered to Deepwater Wind in Europe in April 2014.
“This agreement represents a giant leap forward for the Block Island Wind Farm, and the start of turbine construction just last month marked a major project milestone,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski . “We’re thrilled to have a company as renowned as Alstom as our turbine partner.”
Number of jobs to be created in Rhode Island
The partnership between these two companies will create a number of local jobs and boost Rhode Island’s economy. In addition to operations and management positions, which Deepwater Wind will fill to support the project, Alstom intends to base its long-term service operations in Rhode Island and to perform pre-installation work in a Rhode Island harbor. Furthermore, Alstom will investigate opportunities to execute assembly activities in Rhode Island.
The export contract was signed in the presence of Arnaud Montebourg, French minister of economic recovery; Ernest Moniz, American Minsiter of Energy; Amy Ericson, Country President Alstom USA and Jeffrey Grybowski, Deepwater CEO.
Block Island offshore wind farm is scheduled for commissioning in 2016. It will be one of the first offshore wind farms in the U.S. and will be the world’s first to feature Alstom’s Haliade™ 150-6 MW. The five turbines will produce approximately 125,000 MWh of electricity a year, enough to power over 17,000 homes.
Press release, February 11, 2014; Image: Alstom