The 900MW Greater Changhua 1&2a Offshore Wind Farm, located off the coast of Taiwan, has successfully delivered first power.
With the installation and energization of the first batch of offshore wind turbines, the first power was delivered on time.
Array cables, offshore substations, and export cables were used to transport the electricity to Orsted’s onshore substations. Taipower’s substation fed the renewable energy onto the national grid.
At Changhua 1&2a, a total of 111 Siemens Gamesa 8.0-167 DD wind turbines will be installed. Greater Changhua 1&2a is Taiwan’s largest offshore wind project, as well as the developer’s first large-scale offshore wind farm in Asia.
Greater Changhua 1&2a, located 35-60 kilometres across the Taiwan Strait, will “substantially boost” Taiwan’s rapid deployment of renewables and offer clean energy to Taiwan’s export sectors.
Christy Wang, the general manager of Orsted Taiwan, said “Delivering the first power as scheduled is a major milestone for both Orsted and Taiwan.”
“Since the 900MW capacity was first awarded to Orsted in April 2018 through the grid allocation process, our team has spared no efforts to develop and construct Greater Changhua 1&2a and achieve first power only four years later.”
Wang also stated “This has not been an easy task, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic challenges during the past two years.”
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude for all the support from government agencies, local and international suppliers, as well as local stakeholders.”
Greater Changhua 1&2a Offshore Wind Farm co-CEO Frida Persson said “We are proud of the team we have built, encompassing thousands of people from multiple leading Taiwanese and international contractors from across the globe.”
“We are determined to complete construction this year, meeting all quality, health, safety, and environmental (QHSE) standards and fulfilling our environment impact assessment commitments.”
The 900MW offshore wind project is still moving forward at full pace.
Orsted is also a key shareholder and co-owner of Formosa 1, Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, which was recently expanded from 8MW to 128MW.
