New Siemens (NYSE:SI) CEO Peter Loescher, who came on board late last month after news that the company had allegedly used bribes to win some telecommunications contracts, announced Thursday that he has put in place new measures to prevent such corruption.
This is all well and good, and investors should be pleased, but a different bit of news should have investors cheering even louder. The company reported that it had sold 25 offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 90 megawatts to the Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm, off the coast of Wales.
The news offers further evidence that Siemens remains the leading supplier of large-scale offshore wind turbines in Europe -- ahead of both Vestas and GE (NYSE:GE). And when I say large-scale, I mean large. Each turbine is bigger than a football field in diameter (117 yards, to be precise), and 25 of them produce enough electricity to meet the needs of 100,000 homes.
In addition to each turbine being able to produce 3.6 megawatts, their presence offshore (and thus out of sight of most people) means they're also likely to spawn fewer consumer complaints than land wind farms, which often draw opposition because of aesthetic issues.
Siemens has already installed more than 6,000 wind turbines worldwide, and I expect this number will grow considerably in the coming years, especially as both the United States and China also turn their attention to offshore wind power.
This opportunity, combined with the new leadership, can be likened to a fresh breeze for the company, and it should have Siemens investors breathing a little easier after having to deal with the bribery scandal.
Interested in clean tech-related Foolishness? Check out these articles:
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Fool contributor Jack Uldrich likes fresh breezes, especially now that they can't mess up his hair (he is bald). He owns stock in GE. The Fool has a strict disclosure policy.
