Matthias Bausenwein, Ørsted’s General Manager for Asia Pacific, said: “based on our current timelines for the Greater Changhua projects, we want to secure local supplier’s capacity for key components like underwater foundation substructures. Today, we’re very pleased to collaborate with CSC, a leading industry player in Taiwan. This MoU is the outcome of a perfect match between a global experienced developer and a strong local manufacturer.”
Today’s collaboration means the Greater Changhua projects’ underwater foundation substructures could ultimately be entirely manufactured by local supply chain. But It also highlights the importance of a steady build out timeline for Taiwan’s offshore wind between 2020 to 2025 so that the local supply chain can develop capability and capacity.
Matthias Bausenwein added: “Ørsted has been proactively seeking opportunities to work with local suppliers. and remains determined for any collaboration. To keep the Greater Changhua project timelines on track, we’ll need a strong supplier base for key components. For the underwater foundation substructures, we’ll need two suppliers. That’s why we’ve chosen to work with China Steel alongside another local supplier. Moreover, this decision not only can support two suppliers at the same time, but also gives us more flexibility during the construction phase.”
With more than 25 years of experience in offshore wind farm development and operations, Ørsted will continue to share European know-how to help CSC become one of the major suppliers for the company and to manage and deliver offshore substructures within specifications, costs and on time.
Ørsted’s Greater Changhua projects include four sites located 35 to 60 kilometers off the Changhua coast. The total capacity is expected to be 2.4GW and can power 2.8 million homes in Taiwan. Currently, the Greater Changhua projects are in the environmental impact assessment review stage. Once the projects have received all permits, the onshore construction will start in 2019.
In Taiwan, Ørsted also owns 35% of Taiwan’s first offshore wind project, the Formosa 1 project in Miaoli, a county in north-western Taiwan.
Ørsted has already installed more than 1,000 wind turbines offshore worldwide and is the biggest operator of offshore wind farms, with more than 8GW in operation and under construction.
