Danish energy giant Ørsted has been awarded the right to connect 900MW of offshore wind farms to be located in the Taiwan Strait off Changhua County to the nation’s power grid.
Image: Taiwan government awards 900MW capacity offshore wind to Ørsted. Photo: Courtesy of Ørsted.
The two offshore wind projects include Changhua 1 & 2 with capacities of 605MW and 295MW respectively. Grid connection of the two projects is scheduled to take place in 2021.
Construction on the two offshore wind farms is expected to start in 2021, subject to Ørsted’s final investment decision.
Now, the next step for Ørsted is to obtain establishment permit in Changhua County and secure a feed-in-tariff by signing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Taipower.
Early this year, the Danish company received site exclusivity on four offshore wind sites located between 35 and 60km from the shore of Changhua County. The four sites, which are claimed to have a total potential capacity of 2.4GW, have received environmental impact assessment approvals in February this year.
As per Ørsted, the four Greater Changhua offshore wind farms could generate enough power for about 2.8 million Taiwanese households.
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.”
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 add a total capacity of 120MW to Formosa 1, which has a 8MW capacity.
Formosa 1 is a joint venture between Ørsted with 35% stake, Taiwanese developer Swancor Renewable with 15%, and Macquarie Capital with 50%.