German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has scored an order for its 2.5MW N90/2500 turbine from China, the first since the launch of a marketing campaign for the multi-MW series in the Far East.
The order comes as Nordex prepares its Chinese plants for the production of the 2.5 MW turbine.
The customer is wind operator Zhongmin Wind Power, a subsidiary of the Fujian Investment Group. The state-owned company develops and operates infrastructure projects across China and plans to build around 1GW of new wind farm capacity over the next five years.
Located close to the coast near Zhongcuo, where mean wind speeds of 8.4 m/s prevail, the 30 MW wind farm will comprise twelve N90/2500 turbines. The project is due to be completed by the end of 2012.
Exports account for 85% of Nordex's business, and the company's move into China reflects the growing importance of the wind market there. According to the German company, China was the world's largest wind market in 2011, accounting for around 40% of international new installations. Most of these new installations comprised turbines with average capacity of around 1.5 MW, which led Nordex to start marketing larger models in the region.
Lars Bondo Krogsgaard, chief customer officer at Nordex, said: "With our new range for Asia, we are entering a segment which is attracting strong demand in China and is not yet being addressed by all of our peers."
The multi-MW range marketed by Nordex in China consists of a three turbine models, the N90/2500, N100/2500, and N117/2400. According to Nordex, around 1,850 of these models are currently in operation across the globe, well over a third of the company's 4,880 turbines installed worldwide.
