A Taiwan centre for renewables excellence

Q. Can you please explain the offshore wind development deal with the Port of Taichung?

A. In February 2020, Ørsted signed a wharf lease and a 20-year operations and maintenance (O&M) lease with the Port of Taichung, managed by Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) and TIPC Marine Construction, respectively.

The Port of Taichung has been selected as the most suitable O&M base for the Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farms due to its proximity to the sites, water depth, wharf facilities, navigational access quality and suitability for SOV.

The Ørsted leased wharfs at the Port of Taichung will be upgraded to store heavy components and be utilised for the construction of the Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farms.

Ørsted is pioneering offshore wind in Taiwan by investing in the construction of a brand-new building, serving as the O&M base for Ørsted‘s Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farms from 2022 onwards.

Our investment in the Port of Taichung will help further develop industries related to offshore wind industry and create numerous local jobs. Furthermore, it enables the Port of Taichung to play an important role in the construction and operation of offshore wind farms.

Q. Please outline Ørsted’s plans to install 1.82GW offshore wind capacity in Taiwan.

A. The Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Projects is located 35-60 kilometres off the coast of Changhua County, with a capacity of approx. 900MW, enough to supply around 1 million Taiwanese households with green power. The construction of the offshore wind farms will be finalized between 2021 and 2022.

Ørsted is moving full speed ahead with the construction of the onshore substations and transmission system for the 900MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms and is scheduled to commence the offshore construction work in 2021.

Moreover, Ørsted was awarded the right to build another 920MW offshore wind farms in Taiwan through its Greater Changhua 2b & 4 sites. The wind farms will be built in 2025, subject to Ørsted taking final investment decision on the projects in 2023.

Q. How will the Ørsted wharves at the port be upgraded to enable them to handle wind farm components?

A. Ørsted will construct a total of 300,000m² of heavy-duty pavement on Wharves 36 & 37 to ensure its readiness to store heavy components such as pin piles, towers and blades.

Q. Will the wharves also house wind farm construction and service vessels plus refueling and repair facilities?

A. Ørsted will use the wharves to store heavy components, such as pin piles and blades, prior to and during the construction of the Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farms. The installation vessels will also be berthed there.

During O&M phase, the wharves will be utilised by the Ørsted SOV on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, where the SOV will do port calls for change of offshore technicians crew and other logistic purposes.

Q. The port expects Ørsted’s investment to help encourage other activities related to the offshore wind industry, can you give some examples?

A. Ørsted will establish its O&M base at the Port of Taichung and its relevant supply chains will follow suit.

To name a few, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), will be the wind turbine supplier for the first 900MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms. Because Ørsted is now building the wind turbine nacelle assembly plant in the Port of Taichung, the first of its kind outside of Europe, this means that all nacelles, the heart of wind turbines, for the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms will be assembled in Taiwan.

In addition, under a partnership between CS Wind and Taiwanese Chin Fong Machine Industrial, towers for the wind turbines will be manufactured locally by Chin Fong at the Port of Taichung facilities.

These are excellent examples of how Ørsted goes beyond Taiwan’s localisation requirements and it well demonstrates that Ørsted is not only building wind farms in Taiwan but also leading the creation of an offshore wind value chain.

Ørsted’s decision to choose the Port of Taichung to support construction of the Greater Changhua Offshore Wind Farms and build its first O&M base in Asia Pacific enables the port to participate for the first time in a large-scale offshore wind farm construction process. This provides excellent opportunities for the Port of Taichung to better understand the needs of offshore wind developers and accumulate experience to further expand its services.

Q. In what ways will the new O&M building be environmentally friendly? Has construction begun?

A. The construction of the O&M building will begin in 2020 with expected inauguration in 2022.

Designed by the MAA Group’s local firm, this building will be a green building with a gold rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), making it the flagship O&M center for Ørsted Asia Pacific.

It will be constructed in accordance with similar European design principles and installed with various green solutions, such as recycling of rainwater, maximal application of local green materials, solar panels and charging stations for electric cars and scooters.

These efforts are in line with Ørsted’s decarbonisation programme and vision of creating a greener and more sustainable world.

Q. How is this operation demonstrative of a mutually beneficial partnership with the port and terminal operator? How does this type of relationship help ports to improve their own environmental objectives and green credibility?

A. Ørsted is ranked as the most sustainable company in the world in the Corporate Knights 2020 Global 100 index.

As part of its green commitment, Ørsted joins the global EV 100 initiative and targets to achieve a 100% electric vehicle fleet within five years through adoption of electric battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Adopting the green building standards for the Ørsted flagship O&M base well demonstrate our carbon reduction efforts. We have reduced our carbon emissions by 86%, and by 2025, we’ll be carbon neutral in our generation of energy and its operations. Furthermore, Ørsted will work together with its suppliers to achieve the target of a carbon neutral footprint by 2040.

We have several partners working in the Port of Taichung and together we hope to form a strong partnership to spearhead more green initiatives in Taichung.

Q. What other similar offshore wind operations does Ørsted have around the world? Will this new operation at Taichung be modeled on any of them?

A. Offshore Wind Operations in UK have been evolving for more than ten years. Grimsby as the central hub city in the Ørsted UK East Region is the best model to compare what the Port of Taichung may evolve and grow into. Strong operating regions have been established with central hubs, from where all operational management is anchored.

With our future O&M facility in the Port of Taichung, Ørsted will draw inspiration from Grimsby and be looking into opportunities to develop the Ørsted footprint in Taichung to include a range of services that will ensure the best O&M base for our Offshore Wind Farms. The Port of Taichung is well-positioned to become the central hub for Ørsted APAC Operations.