Danish energy company Ørsted has selected Sing Da Marine Structure Corporation (SDMS), a subsidiary of China Steel Corporation (CSC), for the supply of jacket foundationsfor its 900MW Greater Changhua projects to be installed in 2021.
Image: Officials of Ørsted and SDMS during the signing ceremony. Photo: Courtesy of Ørsted.
Ørsted stated that as part of the deal, SMDS will supply 56 jacket foundations between 2020 and 2021. Ørsted claims that this is its largest jacket foundation contract ever.
SDMS will expand its facilities in Sing Da Harbour in Kaohsiung and have the new factory operational in the first quarter of 2020. The contract is expected to give SDMS a strong pipeline, but will also allow the company to gain knowledge and experience by partnering with Ørsted.
Ørsted Asia Pacific president Matthias Bausenwein said: “Foundations are an essential part of building offshore wind power plants in Taiwan, not least due to the extraordinary demanding site conditions in the Taiwan strait.
“For our Greater Changhua projects, we will have to use Jacket foundations, weighing over 1,100 ton and reaching a height of approximately 75 meters. Such large structures will require outstanding fabrication performance as well as excellence in the execution phase during installation.
The Ørsted foundation team has spent more than 18 months to develop its partnership with CSC and SDMS. The Danish company claims to transfer knowledge to develop a local Taiwanese supplier for a technology area which is innovative and critical for the success of the offshore wind plans.
Ørsted stated: “The Ørsted foundation team has spent more than 18 moths to develop this partnership with CSC and SDMS and is dedicated to transferring knowledge to develop a local Taiwanese supplier for a technology area which is innovative and critical for the success of the Taiwanese offshore wind plans.”
The company has been swiftly moving forward with its plans for the development of the 900MW offshore wind farm in Taiwan. It has been selecting suppliers for the project at a rapid pace.
Early this month, it selected Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation (TCC) for engineering, procurement and construction contract to develop the onshore substation. This is a $228m contract.
Last month it selected CSBC for the manufacture of wind turbine foundation pin piles. CSBC will supply significant number of foundation pin piles for the project.