Engineering giant Siemens has signed a contract for the construction of the first utility-scale offshore wind farm in the US.

It will install 130 turbines at the Cape Wind project, which will have a total capacity of 468MW. It is located 20 kilometres off Nantucket, an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The announcement comes days after US billionaire Warren Buffett’s subsidiary firm placed a wind turbine order claimed to be worth more than $1 billion (£0.6bn) with Siemens.

Michael Süß, member of the Management Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens’ Energy Sector said: “Following the biggest onshore wind order ever and a follow-up order for a highly efficient and flexible gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Pennsylvania, we’ve now signed a contract to provide wind turbines and service for the first commercial offshore wind farm in the US.

“This shows that wind power and natural gas do not stand opposed but rather are the perfect fit for a sustainable energy system.”

Installation and commissioning is expected for 2016.