Siemens 2012 Annual Report Download - page 39

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“At  meters in length, the new rotor blades have nearly the wing-
span of an Airbus A.” When Jens Hald Jensen talks about his
work, he makes generous use of superlatives. And today is a very
fitting occasion for them: on this gorgeous August day, the Siemens
engineer is supervising the assembly of the world’s largest wind
turbine rotor. Sporting a white hardhat and neon-yellow safety vest,
Jensen stands in the middle of a test center in the Danish town of
Østerild, where we’re testing our latest products before they are
commissioned on site. The test subjects arrived several days ago:
our SWT . wind turbine, which has a capacity of six megawatts,
and our B rotor blades, which, at  meters in length, are the
longest blades of their kind currently in operation wordwide. And
although Jens Hald Jensen has worked in the wind industry ever
since earning his university degree, he sees this test as the high-
light of his career to date. “It’s simply incredible to stand here
between these gigantic rotor blades – just look at these unbeliev-
able dimensions,” exclaims the engineer from the Danish town of
Brande. “It really is a technical tour de force to be able to manufac-
ture something this imposing in one piece.”
More than just an impressive rotor
For decades, Jensen has dreamed of an energy infrastructure that
relies more heavily on renewable sources such as wind. “The wind
delivers an unbelievable amount of energy around the clock, espe-
cially offshore,” says the engineer enthusiastically. “The transition
to a new energy system is offering us the opportunity to help shape
the future of energy – and that’s where I feel a very personal
responsibility to future generations.”
It’s no wonder that Jensen is excited about combining the SWT .
turbine with the B rotor blade: a single turbine will be able to
supply green energy to , European households – emission-
free and without the use of fossil fuels. And the first customers are
already lining up to make large-scale use of the new technology:
plans call for installing  SWT . turbines with a total capacity
of , megawatts off the coast of the UK between  and .
Jens Hald Jensen,
project manager at the wind turbine test center in Østerild, Denmark
“These rotor blades have a very special magic
for me. I saw them while they were still on the ground,
I was there when they were raised up, and now
I’m watching them rotate and produce energy –
it’s simply magical.”
Transitioning to a new energy system will
require implementing diverse measures
that need to fit together like the pieces
of a puzzle. Our engineers are continu-
ally developing and honing a wide variety
of solutions that promise to drive this
transition.