Siemens 2009 Annual Report Download - page 30

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Offshore wind farms
It’s been  years now since our com-
pany first became active in the field of
offshore technology. We’ve already
provided turbines for several offshore
wind farms and are currently involved
in a number of further projects. For
instance, together with our Norwe-
gian partner, StatoilHydro, we’re now
testing the world’s first multi-mega-
watt floating wind turbine off the
coast of Norway. We supplied the Hy-
wind prototype turbine, which went
into test operation on September ,
. This pilot project aims to dem-
onstrate that wind turbines which
are not firmly anchored to the seabed
can generate substantial amounts of
energy. Located some  kilometers
southeast of the Norwegian island of
Karmøy, the floating turbine is held in
place by three steel cables moored to
the seabed at a depth of  meters. It
has a capacity of . megawatts and a
rotor diameter of  meters. During
the two-year test phase, the electricity
generated will be transported to the
mainland via a marine cable. All our
turbines feature high corrosion pro-
tection, remote monitoring options,
lightening protection systems and po-
sition lights. With over  megawatts
of installed capacity and an order
backlog of more than three gigawatts,
we’re now the market leader in off-
shore wind power.
Solar-thermal power plants
When electricity is generated by
means of solar-thermal technology,
mirrors are used to focus solar rays.
The resulting high temperatures heat
water, producing water vapor which
drives a steam turbine that generates
power without producing any CO
emissions. Our SST- industrial
steam turbine, which generates up to
 megawatts of electrical power,
enables rapid startup times and quick
load reversals, making it particularly
suitable for solar-thermal power plants
used for non-continuous operation.
We’re the world market leader in
turbines for solar-thermal systems.
The most common type of system to-
day makes use of parabolic mirrors as
collectors. Other up-and-coming tech-
nologies which are finding growing
application include linear Fresnel col-
lector systems with flat mirrors and
central solar power towers with slight-
ly curved mirrors, or heliostats. To
date, solar-thermal power plants have
been built in Andalusia, Spain, for in-
stance, as well as in Nevada and Cali-
fornia in the U.S.
Modernizing coal-fired power plants
One good way to cut CO emissions is
to modernize and upgrade existing
power plants. This applies particularly
to coal-fired power plants, which gen-
erate considerably more emissions
than combined-cycle stations. We’re
experts at refurbishing such plants to
boost their efficiency. In our newly in-
stalled coal-fired plants, efficiency is
expected to exceed  percent by
, compared to current rates of up
to  percent. This increase will be a
boon to power utilities, enabling them
to realize substantial cost savings.
2 Introduction 10 Our world 36 Our company
 Our answers to the toughest
questions of our time
12 Demographic change and healthcare 18 Urbanization and sustainable development