Work Commences on Taiwan's Formosa 2 Wind Farm
A ground-breaking ceremony has been held for the start of onshore construction of the Formosa 2 offshore wind project in Taiwan.
Macquarie Capital’s Green Investment Group announced the successful financial close for the project late in October.
Formosa 2 has been jointly developed by Macquarie Capital (75 percent) and Swancor Renewable Energy (25 percent). The 376MW offshore wind project located off the coast of Miaoli will involve the installation of 47 8MW turbines from Siemens Gamesa. Once complete, it is estimated to provide power equivalent to that used by 380,000 households annually.
The park is situated close to the site of the first commercial offshore wind power plant in Taiwan, Formosa 1, which now consists of 22 turbines.
Mark Dooley, Global head of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, said: “Together with Formosa 1 and Formosa 3, our projects could deliver up to 2.5GW of offshore wind energy. Taiwan is fast becoming Asia’s foremost offshore wind market.”
Fortune Electric will deliver the onshore infrastructure required to connect the project to the local electricity network, and Jan de Nul will deliver the foundations and offshore cables. Formosa 2 will use piled jackets, fabricated by Saipem and Sembcorp, and EEW will manufacture the pin piles. In line with Jan De Nul commitments to develop the Asian offshore wind supply chain, all jacket components will be manufactured in Asia. Formosa 2 is the third Taiwanese offshore wind farm contract for Jan De Nul Group and is three times the capacity of the first two projects, Changhua and Formosa 1 Phase 2.
The Formosa 2 project is part of Taiwan’s target of generating one-fifth of its electricity from renewables by 2025, with 5.5GW of offshore wind under construction expected to be operational by the target date and a further 5GW targetted by 2030.
The project is expected to cost approximately £1.6 billion ($2.05 billion) by completion. UK Export Finance has announced a £230 million project finance guarantee to support its construction.
In September, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy held a launch ceremony for what will be the company’s first offshore nacelle assembly facility outside of Europe. Construction is due to begin in 2020 at the site located in the port of Taichung, Taiwan. Siemens Gamesa currently has offshore nacelle assembly and manufacturing facilities in Germany and Denmark.
The parcel of land being developed in Taiwan measures over 30,000 square meters, and will be used for nacelle assembly, testing, warehousing, office buildings and outdoor storage. Siemens Gamesa is also working closely with Taiwan International Ports Corporation to establish inbound and outbound logistics in newly-established quaysides nearby.
Construction is planned to begin in 2020, and production in 2021. The facility will then support Ørsted’s 900MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a project offshore Taiwan.