CO2 Discharge Injures 17 Workers at Offshore Wind Substation
A carbon dioxide leak at the Hai Long Changhua offshore wind power project in Taiwan has left 17 workers hospitalized, with authorities opening an investigation on the cause of the incident.
Canadian renewable energy firm Northland Power Inc. announced that the leak from the fire suppression system of the project’s onshore substation affected 17 construction workers, leading to their hospitalization and a suspension of work at the site.
The incident occurred at about 1000 local time on August 20. Northland, which is part of a consortium implementing the $6.6 billion project, said that emergency services were immediately notified and first aid measures administered on-site before the workers were transported to nearby hospitals.
“The safety and well-being of our employees and partners remain our top priority. Our current focus is on the well-being of the affected workers and their families. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as more information becomes available,” John Brace, Northland Power Executive Chair.
The Hai Long offshore wind project is a joint venture involving Northland Power, Yushan Energy from Singapore, Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and Malaysian-headquartered Gentari International Renewables. Northland Power has a 30.6 percent controlling stake in the project after it sold 29.4 percent shareholding to Gentari in December last year.
Located about 25 nautical miles off the Changhua coast in the Taiwan Strait, the project consists of two phases, Hai Long 2 and Hai Long 3, with an expected combined generating capacity of 1,022 MW. Once fully operational in 2027, Hai Long will be one the largest offshore wind facilities in Asia, powering more than one million households and industrial facilities.
Northland Power says that construction of the windfarm is in progress with the fabrication of foundations, cables, and onshore and offshore substations. The onshore construction work was moving ahead swiftly and was nearing mechanical completion before the carbon dioxide leak incident occurred and forced its suspension.
Offshore construction has progressed without incident. So far, the consortium has installed offshore substation foundation jackets, the first offshore substation topsides complex, and is continuing with pin pile installations at multiple turbine locations. The pre-fabrication for the first batch of turbine components including towers, generators and nacelles is also progressing well, with multiple parts en route to the site.
The consortium expects that full commercial operations will begin in 2026/2027, on schedule and in line with projected costs.
The Hai Long project is Northland’s first offshore wind project in Asia and fifth in its portfolio. The project is expected to play an important role in helping Taiwan achieve its renewable energy target of 15 GW of offshore wind by 2035.