Spanish renewable energy giant and offshore wind energy leader Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has announced this week that it has received a firm order to supply its 8 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbines to Ørsted’s 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm In Taiwan.
Image Credit: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
Danish power company and wind energy juggernaut Ørsted announced Siemens Gamesa as its preferred supplier for the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm in October of 2018, and this week finalized the partnership by submitting a firm order for 112 of Siemens Gamesa’s SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines. Specifically, the project requires the Asia-Pacific variant of the SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbine which is designed specifically to address “local conditions across the region” such as typhoons and earthquakes.
The Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm was awarded grid capacity in May of 2018 by Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy. However, Ørsted did not take its Final Investment Decision (FID) until May of 2019, given that Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy failed to issue an establishment permit due to a failure to clarify 2019’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for offshore wind projects. This was finally cleared up in February, but Ørsted had already suspended development as it reevaluated its commitment to Taiwan’s offshore wind industry. With the relatively promising FiT confirmed, however, it was really only a matter of time before Ørsted confirmed its FID.
“We have taken the final investment decision for the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a project and are now moving full speed ahead to meet the construction timelines so we can bring clean energy to the people of Taiwan on time,” said Matthias Bausenwein, President of Ørsted Asia Pacific. “Today’s contract signing with Siemens Gamesa also demonstrates our strong commitment to localization and our strong support for Taiwan to continue being a frontrunner in building an offshore wind industry in Asia.”
Located 60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County on the west coast of Taiwan, the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm will consist of the 605 MW Changhua 1 wind farm and the 295 MW Changhua 2a. Ørsted was also awarded a further 920 MW of capacity in June of 2018 to develop further projects in the Changhua lease zone.
As part of the newly signed firm turbine order, Siemens Gamesa will also establish a nacelle assembly facility at Taichung Harbor, just north of Changhua County, which the company expects will be operational in 2021. Wind turbine towers for the project will be supplied locally through a partnership between CS Wind and Chin Fong in Taiwan. These two aspects of the supply order ensure the project is meeting Taiwan’s local content requirements.
“In becoming a firm order, Greater Changhua 1 & 2a serves to significantly strengthen Siemens Gamesa’s presence in Taiwan,” said Andreas Nauen, CEO of the Offshore Business Unit in Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. “Our commitment to create a nacelle assembly facility – ahead of the local content requirement timeframe as set by the Taiwanese government – demonstrates our belief in the market and its long-term potential.”
“With this firm order in place, we are looking forward to start working on Greater Changhua 1 & 2a, as well as on the nacelle assembly facility, which will provide an option to future projects in Taiwan and other markets in the region,” added Niels Steenberg, Executive General Manager of Siemens Gamesa Offshore for Asia-Pacific. “There is still a lot to be done before start of production in 2021, but this will eventually contribute to the local offshore wind industry, with further opportunities for both the supply chain, and for local employment.”
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