Taiwan Power Company has announced plans to construct and develop the 109.2MW Changhua offshore wind farm off the coast of Fangyuan, in the Changhua county in central Taiwan. The open sea off the county’s coast is considered to witness the highest wind power in the entire country.
The initial seabed survey and geotechnical detection for the project are scheduled to be conducted in May 2018. The turbines will be manufactured throughout 2019 and delivered for test operations by mid-2020.
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The wind farm is expected to officially commence operations by December 2020. The project is expected to improve the country’s power generation capacity and increase the usage of renewable energy.
Details of the turbines at the Changhua offshore wind farm
The Changhua offshore wind farm will feature 21 5.2MW Hitachi wind turbines. The area where the project is being developed is frequently hit by typhoons. The Hitachi turbines can tolerate wind speeds of up to 57m/s and will be able to withstand the excess wind power created by the typhoons in the location.
Each turbine will feature a downwind rotor with a diameter of 127m/136m and a swept area of 12,644m²/14,540m². A key feature of the downwind type rotor is that the stronger the wind gets, the clearance between the blades also increases, which reduces the chance of a tower hit.
Three functional blades made of glass-fibre reinforced resin (GFRP) with a length of 62m/66.5m each will be part of the turbines. The turbines will be installed on steel monopole tubular towers with a minimum hub height of 90m.
“The Changhua wind farm will feature 21 5.2MW Hitachi wind turbines.”
The turbines will also include lightning protection features to withstand high voltages of electricity. Majority of the components of the turbines are capable of withstanding 95% of lightning strikes.
Key players involved with the Changhua wind project
Jan De Nul Group and Hitachi were contracted for the manufacturing and installation of the wind turbines in April 2018. The scope of contract includes design, fabrication and installation of the wind turbines as well as the onshore and offshore cables.
Jan De Nul Group will additionally be responsible for the upgradation of the substation and maintenance of the wind farm for a period of five years.
Hitachi will be responsible for the manufacturing, assembly and maintenance of the project equipment.
Wind power market in Taiwan
The Changhua wind project is being developed as part of Taiwan’s aim to develop sustainable and renewable energy resources with a total capacity of 5.5GW. The government has announced a four-year plan aimed at promoting renewable energy generation.
As part of the plan, Taiwan Power Company aims to increase the country’s offshore wind power capacity to 1GW by 2025 and 1.8GW by 2030.
Marketing commentary on Taiwan Power
Founded in 1946, Taiwan Power Company (also known as Taipower) is a state-owned public entity affiliated to the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan. It mainly deals in power development and supply, power investments, energy technology, real estate development, and consultancy services.
Taipower provides services to more than 12.7 million customers in Taiwan as well as the Kinmen and Matsu islets. The company had total assets of T$1.6tn ($4bn) in 2011 and employed 27,261 people.
