Denmark-based Ørsted has commenced the full-scale offshore construction activities at the 900MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms in Taiwan.
The company has started the construction after receiving all the required permits and EIA approvals, and is planning to begin the wind turbine installation next year.
Ørsted intends to commence laying export and array cables and install the offshore substations and foundations in this year.
Ørsted Asia-Pacific president Matthias Bausenwein said: “Ørsted’s vision is to create a world that runs entirely on green energy.
“With 30 years of experience and an end-to-end business model of developing, constructing, and operating offshore wind farms, Ørsted has been committed since day one to helping Taiwan build first world-class offshore wind farms to provide clean energy and contribute to its energy transition goal.
“The commencement of offshore installation of the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms signify a landmark step towards achieving that goal of making Taiwan greener.”
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.
Considered as the first large-scale and farshore offshore wind farms in Taiwan, the projects are planned to be finalised by 2022 and will provide clean energy to one million households.
Ørsted has commenced the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to prepare for cable laying and scour protection works for foundation installation.
The offshore construction will be supported by different marine engineering, vessels suppliers, and personnel from home and abroad.
More than 25 vessels are expected to be mobilised, including crew transfer vessels, installation and support vessels, service operation vessels, and guard vessels.
Ørsted is the co-owner of Formosa 1, Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project. Its capacity was extended from 8MW to 128MW in 2019.
In June 2018, the company was awarded the right to build the 920MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4 offshore wind farms, which are expected to be fully commissioned by 2026, subject to grid availability and Ørsted’s final investment decision.
