Danish energy company Ørsted has taken a final investment decision (FID) on the 900MW Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
Image: Siemens Gamesa is the preferred supplier of turbines for the Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farm. Photo: courtesy of Ørsted Taiwan.
The Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farm will be built 35-50km off the coast of Changhua County. Construction is slated to take place in 2021 and 2022, and upon commissioning, the offshore wind farm will power nearly one million Taiwanese households.
Ørsted’s FID on the Taiwanese offshore wind farm follows approval of the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs of the company’s local supply chain plan and also a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed with Taipower at the feed-in-tariff level.
Ørsted offshore executive vice president and CEO Martin Neubert said: “Over the last couple of months, we have been working intensively to obtain establishment permit, renegotiate contracts, get our supply chain plan approved and sign the power purchase agreement.
“Thanks to a close and strong collaboration with our supply chain partners, Taipower and decision-makers in Taiwan, we have achieved all these milestones and can now take the final investment decision on this landmark project, which will be Taiwan’s largest offshore wind farm and demonstrate offshore wind’s potential to decarbonize energy systems in Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region.”
In October 2018, Ørsted selected Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) as the preferred wind turbine supplier for the Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farm, which will be equipped with nearly 112 SG 8.0 -167 DD turbines.
A month later, the Danish firm selected Sing Da Marine Structure Corporation (SDMS), a subsidiary of China Steel Corporation (CSC), for the supply of 56 jacket foundations for the new offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
The Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farm is part of Ørsted’s Greater Changhua offshore wind sites, which are expected to have a capacity of 2.4GW.
Last June, the Danish energy company bagged the right to develop another 920MW offshore wind in Taiwan through its Changhua 2b and 4 sites. Slated to be constructed in 2025, the Changhua 2b and 4 wind farm will be subject to the company arriving at a final investment decision in 2023.
Ørsted plans to construct around 1.8GW capacity of the Greater Changhua offshore wind sites in 2021 and 2025 and will take part in future auction rounds for an additional capacity of around 600MW.