Global offshore wind leader Ørsted said today (17) that the company is moving full speed ahead with the construction of the onshore substations and onshore transmission system for the 900MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms, and working closely with Star Energy Corporation (SEC), a 100% subsidiary of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation to implement the highest Quality, Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) standards on site to ensure high performance on health and safety for the workers as well as to ensure high quality of the construction work.
Ørsted kicked off the construction work of the onshore substations and onshore transmission system for the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms in November 2019, commissioning TCC with over NTD 7 billion EPC contract to be carried out by Star Energy to build two onshore substations, cable corridors, and transition joint bays.
Christy Wang, General Manager of Ørsted in Taiwan, says: “Ørsted strongly believes that seamless collaboration with local partners is one of the key success factors for excellence in project execution. In our partnership, both Ørsted and SEC well demonstrated our adaptiveness and flexibility. Through constant exchanges and learning from each other, we are able to successfully combine our global experience with local expertise to work on the onshore substations and onshore transmission system for the Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farms.”
“Ørsted is committed to supporting the development of local supply chains from day 1 and work with local companies to elevate their capability and QHSE practice to international standards, and potentially enter into the international supply chains in the future.”
Ørsted is not only building the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms to provide clean energy but also continues to share its global best practice for Taiwan. One good example is the introduction of the ‘Rehearsal of Concept’ that runs on a daily basis on site for Ørsted and SEC to review the progress and go through tasks and safety arrangements for the following day to ensure smooth and safe execution of the installation and construction works.
In addition to carrying out the onshore substations civil works with the highest QHSE standards, Ørsted is dedicated to complying with EIA commitments, including having archaeological experts on site during excavation works and controlling air pollution and noise levels to comply with the Management Regulations for Construction Project Air Pollution Control Facilities and Noise Control Standards.
Moreover, the onshore substations serve as an excellent example of how offshore wind can contribute to the local communities, including creating approximately 800 plus job opportunities during the construction period, both directly and indirectly, and benefiting dozens of Taiwanese suppliers for the substation components and services, including some from Changhua county.
SEC Vice President Tom Cheng says: “This is our second offshore wind projectThe scope and standards are very different from our previous work.The QHSE standards for offshore wind projects are much higher than other construction works in Taiwan. Through collaborating with Ørsted, we are able to boost our EPC competence in offshore wind substation construction and gain experience, which will lay a strong foundation for us to compete for other offshore wind projects in the future.”
The majority of the onshore civil works for the Greater Changhua onshore substations will be completed by the end of 2020 while the onshore substations will be ready to energize by the end of 2021.
