Vestas Turbines for Irish Sea Wind Project

Danish utility DONG has struck a conditional agreement to buy 32 of Vestas' largest offshore wind turbines to expand a project off the British coast.

DONG said it was the first commercial order for the turbines, labelled V164-8.0 MW (megawatt), and it hoped to begin construction at the start of 2016.

Vestas, the world's largest maker of land-based wind turbines, is developing the offshore units together with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

They will boost the scale of DONG's Burbo Bank wind farm in Liverpool Bay, which currently has 25 turbines powered by winds blowing in from the Irish Sea.

A single deal for 256 MW is relatively large for Vestas, which booked 1,932 MW of orders in the second quarter of this year.

The Danish company is playing catch-up in the market for offshore turbines. German rival Siemens extended its lead over Vestas last year, taking a 60 percent market share in Europe, according to the European Wind Energy Association.

"With the V164-8.0 MW offshore wind turbine in commercial use, the competition among the offshore wind turbine manufacturers will increase for the benefit of both the industry and the electricity consumers," Samuel Leupold, Executive Vice President of DONG Energy, said in a statement.

The agreement is conditional because DONG is yet to make a final investment decision on the project. 

Copyright Reuters 2014.