As Cuxhaven makes it to the world's top thanks to Siemens By...

As Cuxhaven makes it to the world's top thanks to Siemens
By Olaf Preuß | Stand: 06.06.2017 |

For the first time in 20 years, Siemens has again installed a complete plant in Germany. In Cuxhaven, the world's largest production facility for wind turbines has been established. This makes the city the center of the offshore industry.
When the signed contract finally came before him in the summer of 2015, Ulrich Getsch poured a beer. The mayor of Cuxhaven enjoyed drinking "It was the best beer of my life." 6000 e-mails had previously exchanged the economic development of his city with the contractor, many managers and engineers received. For several years this went like this. Siemens then awarded the city at the Elbe estuary to build the world's largest and most efficient factory for offshore wind turbines.
Almost two years later, a cloudless sky in May, Getsch is once more in a good mood. He is wearing a white construction helmet and a yellow warning vest over his jacket. For the first time, he will enter the factory on this day, which will have a total of 2,000 new jobs in Cuxhaven. The offshore wind turbines with eight and more megawatts of power Siemens wants to build here are about as much Such as the world's largest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A380.
The wind power sector has reached the stage of the big industry. "Impressive," says Getsch, letting the view wander, sees yellow lacquered deck cranes from which the strongest 500 tons can move, looks at trucks, vans, lifting platforms and many hardworking craftsmen. The factory equipment has been installed since the beginning of this week. In June production starts in the factory.
The new facility will thus contribute significantly to the economic recovery in Cuxhaven. At the same time, it is a milestone for the global Siemens group. For 20 years, the company has not built a completely new plant in its home country of Germany. Siemens is investing € 200 million.
The world market leader in the construction of offshore wind turbines, according to official figures, will finalize a three-digit number of wind power plants in Cuxhaven. Siemens manager Carsten-Suennke Berendsen will be headed by Getsch and Hans-Joachim Stietzel, head of Cuxhaven's business development.
It is not just for Germany, but for global demand, says Berendsen. Market observers estimate that according to the current order situation for offshore wind parks, Siemens in Cuxhaven would currently have to build at least 300 machines a year to cover the demand. New offshore parks are to be created in the coming years, particularly on the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. But also in Asia and in other regions of the world, more and more electricity is generated in front of the coasts.
Plant for high-performance turbines in high quantities
In Germany, 2024 and 2025 the first marine wind parks are to be put into operation which no longer require subsidies from electricity consumers in the form of feed-in tariffs for green electricity. This is an important step in order to put the energy turnaround economically on its own. Second-generation wind power plants with at least ten megawatts of power are produced, which are produced with high efficiency in large quantities. The Siemens factory in Cuxhaven is designed for this purpose.