Vestas Receives 400 MW Turbine Order For Wind Farms in Texas

A wind farm near Abeline, Texas.
Vestas Wind Systems A/S, a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines, has received a 400 MW order from Duke Energy Renewables for two wind farms in Texas.
The projects—Los Vientos III and Los Vientos IV—will include 200 V110-2.0 MW turbines combined that will be installed on wind farms in Texas. Deliveries for Los Vientos III and IV are scheduled to begin in the first half of next year with commissioning expected in 2015 and 2016.It is Vestas’ largest turbine order globally since 2010.
“Continuing our partnership with Duke Energy, one of the largest utilities in the United States, is really important to Vestas,” said Chris Brown, President of Vestas’ sales and service division in the United States and Canada. “We won this deal in a very competitive process and thank Duke for its faith in Vestas to deliver high quality services and products such as our new V110-2.0 MW turbine. These turbines will be able to power nearly 120,000 Texas households with clean, reliable electricity for decades. This order also will keep our U.S. factories busy and create jobs for Vestas service technicians who ensure the turbines are producing the maximum amount of power.”
The V110-2.0 MW turbine is a variant of the V100-1.8 MW that can provide over 13 per cent higher annual energy production compared with its predecessor.
Vestas’ factories in Colorado will manufacture blades, nacelles and towers for these projects. Once Los Vientos IV is finished, it will be the 10th major wind-energy project in Texas to use Vestas turbines.
“We’re pleased to again be working with Vestas on projects that will bring affordable, renewable energy to Texas,” said Duke Energy Renewables President Greg Wolf. “It’s a good partnership, first forged in 2009 when Vestas supplied 55 turbines for our Notrees Windpower Project in west Texas. We’re confident that Los Vientos III and IV will deliver excellent performance and reliably serve customers in south Texas for years to come.”
The projects include three-year service agreements featuring the Active Output Management (AOM) 5000 offering. 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.
Overall, Vestas has secured 870 MW of orders in the United States and Canada in 2013 among four turbine types.