With offshore turbine installation now complete, the wind farm is expected to begin operations early next year, after testing phase
Image: Ørsted completes installing final turbine at Formosa 1 offshore wind farm. Photo: Courtesy of Ørsted A/S.
The final wind turbine has been installed at Taiwan’s first offshore wind farm, Formosa 1 Phase 2, which will generate enough power to be supplied to 128,000 households in the country.
Offshore construction of Formosa 1 Phase 2 began this May and the first turbine was installed this July. The Formosa 1 Phase 2 includes 20 of 6MW wind turbines.
Formosa 1 Phase 1 had a capacity of 8MW and the capacity will be increased to 128MW this year, under phase 2.
The turbine installation was carried out by subcontractors that include JDN for foundation and cable installation, Siemens Gamesa for wind turbine installation, operation and maintenance and Fortune Electric for onshore electrical systems.
Formosa 1 chairman, Ørsted Asia Pacific president Matthias Bausenwein said: “The Formosa 1 project team and the joint venture partners, Ørsted, JERA, Macquarie Capital, and Swancor, have faced various challenges in the past few months.
“The installation of the last wind turbine not only marks the completion of the construction work, but also symbolises that we now have built valuable construction experience in Taiwan.
“All Formosa 1 wind turbines will start powering soon, and then reach commercial operation by the end of the year. Formosa 1 will become a paradigm for Taiwan’s energy transition.”
Ørsted owns a 35% stake in Formosa 1 phase 2 offshore wind farm
The Formosa 1 project is a joint venture between Ørsted with a 35% stake, JERA with a 32.5% stake, Macquarie Capital with a 25% stake and the remaining stake of 7.5% is held by Swancor.
Siemens Gamesa was selected by the owners to supply 20 of 6MW turbines and provide full-services for 15 years under the contract. Fortune Electric was given the responsibility of upgrading the onshore substation.
The power generated from the wind farm will be supplied to Taipower and a power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed with the company in December 2017.
In addition to Formosa 1, Ørsted is developing four more offshore wind farms in the Greater Changhua region in Taiwan. The four projects are located between 35km and 60km off the coast and have a maximum capacity of 2.4GW.
Ørsted received environmental impact assessment approval last February and the projects are planned to be built between 2021 and 2025, subject to further permits and final investment decision.
When online, the four wind farms could generate enough clean energy, sufficient to be supplied to 2.8 million Taiwanese homes.