GREAT LAKES OFFSHORE WIND PICKS A TURBINE

LEEDCo Targeting Siemens' 3 MW Turbine

16 July 2012 (North American Windpower)

“Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo)…is now targeting Siemens' 3 MW direct-drive wind turbine for its Icebreaker offshore wind farm, a proposed five- to nine-turbine project seven miles off the coast of Cleveland in Lake Erie…

“…LEEDCo had selected GE Energy's 4.1 MW offshore wind turbines…[but] GE would not devote the resources necessary to make modifications in the turbine's rotor diameter, as LEEDCo had requested… LEEDCo expects the switch in turbine units will provide cost reductions…The technical details of the [Siemens] turbine are also significant…”

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“…[S]witching to a lower turbine nameplate would appear to produce less electricity…[the Siemens turbine’s] capacity factor and overall energy output [may] actually be greater, given the turbine is designed for Lake Erie’s Class II wind regime. Class I turbines are optimal for North Sea and Atlantic wind conditions…

“…[T]he Siemens turbine will be entirely manufactured in the U.S. - a plus for job creation and lower transportation costs.”

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