The award is aimed at recognizing companies that have made investment in Taiwan and contributed to local and national economic development between November 2019 and October 2020. Ørsted is the only offshore wind energy company to receive the award.
Christy Wang, General Manager of Ørsted Taiwan, says: “Ørsted is committed to developing offshore wind and helping Taiwan realize the energy transition goal. The Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms will be the first large-scale far-shore wind farm located off the coast of Changhua County. The Port of Taichung will not only serve as the hub for storing and transporting heavy components for the wind farms but also play a key role throughout the 25-30 years of wind farm lifecycle.”
“Moreover, Ørsted has kicked off the environmental impact assessment of the Xu Feng 1, 2, 3 projects, and is ready to utilize the Xu Feng projects and the 570MW Greater Changhua 3 project that already has obtained EIA approval to take an active role within the coming zonal development phase. We are eagerly awaiting the authorities to finalize the new framework for upcoming auctions, as it is important for Taiwan to continue with the momentum of offshore wind development by holding the first auction of zonal development before the end of 2021 to ensure its leading position in Asia Pacific. We hope to continue building and operating world-class offshore wind farms and contribute to developing offshore wind industry in central Taiwan, creating long-term business opportunities for local economies and ensuring a win-win-win situation for the government, corporate offtakers and people in Taiwan.”
To meet the needs of construction and operations of offshore wind farms, Ørsted have made major investments in the Port of Taichung and transportation, including:
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Signed a 20-year operations and maintenance (O&M) lease with Taiwan International Ports Corporation to construct a green building to serve as the O&M base of the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms from 2022 onwards. This is expected to establish an offshore wind O&M clusters in central Taiwan that will have a magnet effect to kick off O&M-related business, such as logistics, services, hotels and restaurants.
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Signed a wharf lease with Taiwan International Ports Corporation Ltd. to upgrade the wharfs and hinderland at the Port of Taichung and signed a contract with Hung Hua Construction Co., Ltd to upgrade the leased wharfs to be ready to store components, such as pin piles, towers and blades.
- Signed a 15-year contract with Ta San Shang Marine Co. Ltd. to build the first-ever Taiwan-flagged service operation vessel. More importantly, this SOV contract has given the Taiwanese vessel supplier a unique opportunity to tap into offshore wind industry and obtain long-term O&M business opportunities.
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Signed crew transfer vessels contracts to charter five ships and form a Taiwan-flagged CTV fleet for the construction of the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms. Moreover, these contracts provide necessary language and crew trainings to help them get ready to work on CTVs in the near future.
Ørsted is moving full speed ahead with constructing the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms and set to kick off offshore wind construction work next year. When the offshore wind farms are completed in 2022, both the SOV and O&M base will also be ready to host Ørsted’s O&M team at the Port of Taichung.
Along with the 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4 Offshore Wind Farms expected to be finalized between 2025-2026, Ørsted will continue to support Taiwan to realize its energy transition goals.
