Today, Ørsted is proud to announce the inauguration of Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms. With a total installed capacity of 900 MW, the project is in operation and fully connected to the grid, making it the largest in Taiwan and in the Asia-Pacific region. Today’s inauguration is a major milestone, as the Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms have not only doubled Taiwan’s offshore wind capacity, they have also successfully catalysed Taiwan’s offshore wind ecosystem.
Hosted at Ørsted’s state-of-the-art operations and maintenance hub at the Port of Taichung, distinguished guests at the inauguration ceremony included President Tsai Ing-wen, Shen Jong-chin, Senior Advisor to the President, Chang Tun-han, Deputy Secretary-General to the President, Wang Mei-hua, Minister of Economic Affairs, dignitaries of foreign offices in Taipei, representatives from the wind farm investors Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Cathay Private Equity (Cathay PE), local suppliers and financial institutions as well as Mads Nipper, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Ørsted, Patrick Harnett, Chief Operating Officer at Ørsted, Per Mejnert Kristensen, CEO of Region APAC at Ørsted and Christy Wang, Chair of Ørsted Taiwan.
President Tsai thanked Ørsted for investing in Taiwan and bringing renewable technologies. She recalled that eight years ago she went to see the first two demonstration wind turbines of Formosa 1, which is located off the coast of Miaoli County. Soon after that, Ørsted came to Taiwan and started further development of Formosa 1 and the 128 MW project which was inaugurated in 2019 as Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. Today, she congratulated Ørsted once again for completing the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms with the support of its investors, CDPQ and Cathay PE. This is currently the largest offshore wind project in the Asia-Pacific region.
"It took us eight years to turn the words 'energy transition' in our policy papers into actual wind farms in operation. Taiwan now has Asia-Pacific's largest offshore wind farm and our own offshore wind supply chain."
Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted, says: “With today’s inauguration, we’re celebrating a landmark achievement for Ørsted and for Taiwan. Greater Changhua 1 and 2a are our first gigawatt-scale offshore wind farms outside of Europe. They’re also Taiwan’s first utility-scale far-shore wind farms and the largest of their kind in APAC, reaffirming Taiwan as the frontrunner in the region. In 2024, Ørsted has a record 7.6 GW of offshore wind projects under construction worldwide, including our next big project in Taiwan, the 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b and 4. We’re committed to creating a world that runs entirely on green energy and enabling long-term benefits to the economies and societies where we operate.”
Per Mejnert Kristensen, CEO of Region APAC at Ørsted, says: “Greater Changhua 1 and 2a is a flagship project of historic significance. This project has spearheaded the establishment of the domestic offshore wind industry as well as contributed significantly to Taiwan’s energy transition and net-zero goals. I’d like to express gratitude to the relentless efforts of our team and to the support from the authorities and our partners, suppliers, and contractors. We’ve built a strong talent pool, including our industry-first operations and maintenance ‘Taiwan team’, dedicated to ensuring stable energy output for decades to come. Together, we look forward to delivering more world-class wind farms in Taiwan.”
Ørsted began offshore construction in March 2021 and recently announced the successful installation of all 111 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines, which are now supplying clean energy to Taiwan’s electricity grid. The project is comprised of the 605.2 MW Greater Changhua 1, which is co-owned by Ørsted (50 %) and Mercury Taiwan Holdings, a consortium of CDPQ, a global investment group, and Cathay PE, with a combined ownership stake of 50 %. The 294.8 MW Greater Changhua 2a is wholly owned by Ørsted.
Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure for CDPQ, says: “Today’s inauguration of the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm marks a significant milestone for Taiwan, and for our collaboration with Ørsted and Cathay PE. CDPQ is committed to advancing the energy transition in Asia-Pacific, and we continue to explore investment opportunities in renewables and transition assets across the region.”
Jeff Chang, Chair of Cathay PE, says: “Today’s event is of great significance to Taiwan’s energy transition, and Cathay PE is glad to be part of the achievement, contributing to Taiwan’s low-carbon future.”
The 900 MW project inaugurated today is part of Ørsted’s Greater Changhua offshore wind zone, which also comprises Greater Changhua 2b, Greater Changhua 3, and Greater Changhua 4. The zone has a combined capacity of approximately 2.4 GW. Greater Changhua 1 and 2a alone can produce enough clean energy to power one million Taiwanese households a year, equivalent to 1.75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide reduction annually.
Ørsted is dedicated to delivering stable and large-scale clean energy in Taiwan. The company is currently constructing its next large-scale project, the 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b and 4 offshore wind farms. Together with Taiwan’s first commercial offshore wind farm, Formosa 1 (128 MW), Ørsted is operating and constructing nearly 2 GW of offshore wind capacity in Taiwan.
Key milestones of Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms:
For further information, please contact:
Ørsted Asia-Pacific Media Relations
Rachel Chan
racch@orsted.com
+886 933 529 367