The hub – Ørsted’s first outside Europe – is located in the Port of Taichung in the west of the county. Taiwan is the first market Ørsted entered in the Asia-Pacific region.
Ørsted signed a lease for the site in February 2020, with construction starting in September 2020 and completed in June 2022.
Design and construction of the hub cost around NTD 500 million (US$16.6 million)
The hub is set to service the four Greater Changhua wind farms, which together will total 2.4GW in capacity. These comprise the 605MW Greater Changhua 1 and 295MW Greater Changhua 2a wind farms, which generated first power this year and are set to be completed by year-end, while the 337MW Greater Changhua 2b and 583MW Greater Changhua 4 wind farms are due to come online in 2025 and 2026, subject to a final investment decision. Its 570MW Greater Changhua 3 project already has had its environmental impact assessment approved.
Ørsted explained that it plans “to oversee the daily operations of offshore wind farms, ensure optimal clean energy output, and manage all safety aspects related to the works carried out by the offshore O&M technicians” from the hub.
The firm has developed a local O&M team — technicians have been on secondment on operating wind farms in the UK — and launched a customised service operation vessel (SOV).
It is also noted that it is using locally-sourced, energy-saving and sustainable materials to cut its carbon footprint, with the firm aiming to be net-zero by 2025.
Ørsted chief executive Mads Nipper said: “We’re contributing significantly to Taiwan’s energy transition through the 1.82GW capacity we’ve been awarded and more than 5.6GW of new projects in the pipeline.”
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