Construction of Siemens’ wind turbine plant in Cuxhaven officially kicked off today.
Soil compaction and the preparation of the pile foundation, with 1,900 concrete piles, have already been completed. Construction of the actual building was officially started by Siemens with a groundbreaking ceremony.
During the coming weeks, the concrete mixers will start working on the site covering an area of 170,000 square meters – a surface comparable to the size of 24 soccer fields. A poured concrete plate 320 meters long and more than 160 meters wide will be held in place by the 1,900 concrete piles and will form the base of the future production hall.
Once production begins, the ground must withstand heavy loads of up to several hundred tons. Civil engineering works for the foundations of the production facility will start during the coming weeks. The completion of the production hall, with height of up to 30 meters, is scheduled for mid-2017. With its usable area of round about 55,000 square meters, the hall could provide parking for 15 large aircrafts.
Besides the assembly hall, a two-story building with about 3,800 square meters usable area for offices and a canteen as well as a technological building and a gatehouse will also rise at the site.
Production of the 7MW direct drive offshore wind turbines will start in summer 2017, coinciding with the start of manufacturing of the 75-meter rotor blades at the new plant in Hull, UK. The two offshore manufacturing plants, as well as the installation harbor ports, will be connected by two specialized transport vessels and will deploy the innovative Siemens roll-on and roll-off logistics concept for loading.