Ørsted has signed a wharf lease and a 20-year operations and maintenance (O&M) lease with the Port of Taichung in Taiwan.
The leased wharfs will be upgraded and utilized for the construction of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms, and the O&M site will serve as the O&M base for Ørsted‘s Changhua offshore wind farms from 2022 onwards.
“The 20-year lease with the Port of Taichung shows our long-term commitment to fully developing and implementing in Changhua County,” Matthias Bausenwein , President of Ørsted Asia-Pacific, said.
”We want to ensure that we are well prepared for the continuing offshore wind development in Taiwan by upgrading the harbor infrastructure for construction and operations works. We also expect that during the O&M phase, our Greater Changhua wind farms will create several hundred local direct and indirect jobs with our contractors and suppliers. These efforts are a win-win situation for the development of the offshore wind industry and local communities.”
Ørsted’s Greater Changhua wind farms are located approximately 35-60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County. The Port of Taichung has been selected as the most suitable O&M base for these wind farms due to its proximity to the sites, water depth, wharf facilities, and navigational access quality.
In accordance with the construction timeline for Greater Changhua 1 & 2a , Ørsted has begun the upgrade of the leased wharfs to be ready to store components, such as pin piles, towers, and blades.
The wharf lease with the Port of Taichung will cover the period during which Ørsted plans to install at least 1.82GW offshore wind capacity in Taiwan.
“Ørsted’s investment in the Port of Taichung for supporting the construction and O&M of the Greater Changhua wind farms will help further develop industries related to offshore wind industry and create a lot of local jobs,” Port of Taichung Taiwan International Ports Corporation President Lu Chan-yu said.
”Also, it enables the Port of Taichung to play an important role in the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. TIPC welcomes the Ørsted’s investment and look forwards to working together on furthering offshore wind industry development in Taiwan.”
The construction of the O&M building will begin in 2020, with the expected inauguration in 2022.
Andreas Munk-Janson , Head of Operations of Ørsted Asia-Pacific, said: “Ørsted pioneers offshore wind in Taiwan by investing in the construction of a brand-new building, serving as the O&M base for our offshore wind farms. Once we’ve completed the construction of this building, the onshore-based O&M staff and management team will be stationed there to support the offshore-based O&M teams for these wind farms. Drawing on Ørsted’s extensive experience in operating offshore wind farms, the building design has been optimized to drive operational efficiency.”