The Greater Changhua offshore wind projects are planned to be developed on four sites in the Taiwan Strait, from 35km to 60km off the coast of Changhua County, Taiwan.
Danish offshore wind developer Orsted (formerly Dong Energy) has obtained site exclusivity on four offshore wind sites with a planned total generation capacity of 2.4GW.
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Orsted received the environmental impact assessment approval for all four Greater Changhua wind projects in February 2018 and was awarded the right to connect 900MW capacity from the Greater Changhua offshore wind projects to Taiwan’s power grid in April 2018.
The company took the final investment decision (FID) on the 605MW Changhua-1 and the 295MW Changhua-2a wind farms in May 2019 and started onshore construction works in November 2019.
Changhua-1 and 2a wind farms are scheduled for commissioning in 2022, while the FID on Changhua 2b and 4 wind farms is expected in 2023.
The four Greater Changhua wind projects are expected to comprise the biggest wind-power complex in Taiwan and power approximately 2.8 million households in the country, upon completion.
Changhua 1 and 2a wind farms make-up
The Changhua-1 and Changhua-2a offshore wind farms will be equipped with a total of 112 SG 8.0-167 DD turbines from Siemens Gamesa.
The turbines will be supported by jacket foundations along with 90m-long pin piles.
Electricity generated by each turbine will be gathered and transmitted by inter-array cables to the offshore substations from where the electricity will be further transmitted through export cables to two new onshore substations in the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park region.
Greater Changhua offshore wind turbine details
Each of the Siemens Gamesa three-bladed, pitch-regulated, direct-drive offshore turbines to be used in Changhua 1 and Changhua 2a wind farms will have a rated capacity of 8MW.
With a 167m-diameter rotor and 81.5m-long aerodynamic blades, each turbine will have a swept area of 21,900m².
The turbines are typhoon-proof, as they are designed to shut down automatically when the wind speed exceeds 25m/s.
The turbines will also be equipped with sensors that transmit data to the Siemens Gamesa Diagnostic Centre for timely detection of defects and failures.
Contractors involved in the Greater Changhua wind projects
Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (TCC) was awarded the $225m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for two onshore substations, landfalls, cable corridors, and transition joint bays for the Changhua-1 and Changhua-2a offshore wind farms, in November 2018.
Star Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCC, will be responsible for the onshore deliverables pertaining to procurement, design, construction, and commissioning of the substations.
Siemens Gamesa was selected as the turbine supplier for the initial 900MW Greater Changhua offshore project in October 2018.
Woen-Jinn was awarded a $32m contract for the installation of array cables for the Greater Changhua wind farms, in September 2018.
CSBC Corporation was contracted for the supply of wind turbine foundation pin-piles for the project, in October 2018.
EGST, a joint venture between Dragon Prince, Pan Formosa, and EGS, was contracted in April 2018 to conduct detailed geophysical surveys of the Greater Changhua offshore project sites.
Sing Da Marine Structure Corporation (SDMS), a subsidiary of China Steel Corporation (CSC), was contracted for the supply of jacket foundations for the 900MW Greater Changhua projects, in November 2018.
Century Wind Power (CWP) was contracted for the delivery of a jacket foundation transition piece mock-up for the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms, in March 2018.
