Wpd Signs Supply Agreements for 2nd Offshore Project in Taiwan
Bremen, Germany - Wpd's Taiwanese offshore wind energy project Guanyin has reached another milestone with the signing of central supply agreements. The companies are in the starting blocks to begin construction, but are still waiting for final permits.
Partners for the construction of the Guanyin offshore wind farm are ready to go
During the last days, a number of well-known companies have signed supply contracts with Bremen-based project developer Wpd for the 350-megawatt (MW) Guanyin offshore wind farm off the coast of Taoyuan in Taiwan. The companies are ready to start construction of the project, which is scheduled to be commissioned as early as 2022. However, before construction can begin, the remaining permits must still be issued by the Taiwanese government.
The turbines for the project will be delivered by MHI Vestas. A total of 36 wind turbines of the V164 type will be erected. With "Formosa Heavy Industry" and "CTCI Machinery", two Taiwanese heavyweights provide the monopile foundation structures with whom wpd is already cooperating in the 640 MW Yunlin project. The foundations will be set with HLV seaway Yudin by Seaway Heavilift, while Fred Olsen Windcarrier will be responsible for the installation of the wind turbines. The submarine cables are intended to be laid by CSBC Deme Wind Engineering (CDWE) a joint venture of the Taiwanese "China ship building company" and the Belgian "DEME Group". Due to the relative proximity of the coast, GE Taiwan will build an onshore-substation after the submarine cables have landed on the mainland. In addition, an O&M contract has been signed with Deutsche Windtechnik, which according to the company will cover the supervision and maintenance of the foundations and transition pieces as well as the service of the substation after the commissioning of the wind farm. Deutsche Windtechnik will charter a crew transfer ship built in Taiwan for this purpose.
"We have fulfilled our promise to deliver the project. It is ready for construction and includes a very strong footprint of the local industry. For this we are prepared to invest 1.7 billion Euro as soon as we receive the final confirmation by the Taiwanese authorities," says Achim Berge Olsen, COO of Wpd AG. Following the successful Yunlin transaction, the second major Wpd offshore project underlines Wpd's expansion strategy in the rapidly growing Asian market. "The success of the projects is key for Taiwan’s role as preferred market for investors and as hub for the region,," continued Berge Olsen.
About the status of Wpd's offshore activities
Wpd is active in numerous areas of offshore wind energy along the value chain, from classic project development, project management, turbine procurement and construction to the operation and service of multi-megawatt turbines. In Germany, the Butendiek offshore wind farm realized by Wpd with a capacity of 288 MW was connected to the grid, and Nordergründe with 111 MW in December 2017. Several projects developed by wpd have already been approved and will be realised in cooperation with financially strong market players. In Germany, Finland, France, Japan, Sweden and Taiwan, wpd pursues an offshore pipeline of 7,400 MW. Wpd is thus one of the leading European offshore developers.
Source: IWR Online, 28 Aug 2020
