The award was given following a comprehensive grid allocation process by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, covering the 605MW Changhua 1 and the 295MW Changhua 2 offshore wind farms.
Both the offshore wind projects in the Changhua region located off Changhua County are slated to be connected to Taiwan’s power grid in 2021.
Ørsted’s next steps will be to seek permit for the facilities and to secure the feed-in-tariff by making a power purchase agreement with Taipower. Expected to be constructed in 2021, the two offshore wind projects will move ahead once Ørsted makes a final investment decision.
Ørsted Asia-Pacific general manager Matthias Bausenwein said: “Ørsted is fully committed to deliver world class wind power plants for Taiwan on time to accompany the ambitious green energy targets in Taiwan.
“We’ll collaborate closely with central and local governments, and, as outlined in our grid application, we’re determined to build up the local supply chain, engage in local communities and transfer knowledge to Taiwan while developing local talent.”
Ørsted has secured site exclusivity on four Taiwanese offshore wind sites, with a total potential capacity of 2.4GW, out of which 900MW are for the Changhua 1 and Changhua 2 projects.
Recently, Ørsted has made a final investment decision on the second phase of the Formosa 1 offshore wind farm in Chunan Town, Miaoli County on Taiwan’s North-Western coast. The second phase of the wind farm will see an addition of a total capacity of 120MW to Formosa 1’s current 8MW capacity.
In another development, Ørsted has won the rights to develop two new offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of over 551MW in the German North Sea.
The Danish energy company won the 420MW Borkum Riffgrund West 1 and the Gode Wind 4 offshore wind projects during the second auction for offshore wind in Germany conducted by the country’s energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur.
