Taiwan's new offshore wind farms deliver power for the first time

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Ørsted Energy on Wednesday announced it has delivered first power from its 920-megawatt Greater Changhua 2b and 4 offshore wind farms, the first offshore project built to supply renewable energy to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

The wind farms, located 35 to 60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County in western Taiwan, will eventually consist of 66 Siemens Gamesa 14-236 turbines, each with a capacity of 14 megawatts, the company said in a news release.

Jayaram Naidu, managing director of the Greater Changhua offshore wind project, said in the statement that achieving first power within just three months of installing the first subsea foundation in April demonstrates Ørsted's "strong project execution" capabilities.

"Despite ongoing challenges in the global wind industry, we've stayed on course by working closely with our suppliers and contractors," Naidu said.

"This milestone marks the beginning of the next phase -- safely completing construction, energizing additional wind turbines, and progressing steadily toward full commercial operation," he said.

Christy Wang (汪欣潔), chairperson of Ørsted Taiwan, said the milestone is significant for the company and "reaffirms Taiwan's leadership in offshore wind across the Asia-Pacific region."

"All of the renewable energy generated by the 920 MW wind farms will be supplied to TSMC through our 20-year corporate power purchase agreement, aiding our corporate customer in advancing its climate action and sustainability goals," Wang said.

The project has progressed rapidly since a final investment in it was made in March 2023, with all 66 suction bucket jacket foundations and 32 turbines already installed, according to the company's news release.

Two onshore substations and one offshore substation have been energized, and undersea cable laying is continuing on schedule, Ørsted added.

The project is the first in Taiwan to employ piling-free suction bucket jacket foundations, which Ørsted said generate almost no noise during installation and can be fully removed at the end of the wind farm's operational life, reducing potential impact on marine ecosystems.

The Greater Changhua 2b and 4 wind farms follow the company's 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a project, which began operations in April 2024.

Once the new wind farm is fully operational, Ørsted's total installed offshore wind capacity in Taiwan will reach 1.82 gigawatts -- enough to power approximately 2 million households and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.5 million metric tons annually, the company said.

The Denmark-based renewable energy company added that this will make it the largest contributor to Taiwan's offshore wind capacity to date.