Ørsted has successfully delivered the first power from the Greater Changhua 2a Offshore Wind Farm. Greater Changhua 1 & 2a is the largest offshore wind project in Taiwan and the company’s first large-scale offshore wind farm in the Asia-Pacific region. Located 35-60 kilometers off Taiwan’s west coast, the project has a total capacity of 900 MW, making it the largest and first far-shore wind farm in Taiwan.
“Delivering the first power as scheduled is a major milestone for both Ørsted and Taiwan,” says Christy Wang, general manager of Ørsted Taiwan. “Since the 900 MW capacity was first awarded to Ørsted in April 2018 through the grid allocation process, our team has spared no efforts to develop and construct Greater Changhua 1 & 2a and achieve first power only four years later.”
The first power was delivered as scheduled with the installation and energization of the first batch of offshore wind turbines. The electricity was transferred to Ørsted’s onshore substations via array cables, offshore substations and export cables. The renewable energy was fed into the national grid via Taipower’s substation. A total of 111 Siemens Gamesa 8.0-167 DD wind turbines will be installed at Changhua 1 & 2a.
“The successful generation of first power builds on Ørsted’s extensive offshore construction experience and a fantastic team effort,” comments Frida Persson, co-CEO of the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm. “Leveraging our outstanding technical capabilities, we have overcome the challenges of the unique site conditions and weather in the Taiwan Strait. We are proud of the team we have built, encompassing thousands of people from multiple leading Taiwanese and international contractors from across the globe. We are determined to complete construction this year, meeting all quality, health, safety and environmental (QHSE) standards and fulfilling our environment impact assessment commitments.”
The 900 MW offshore wind construction project continues at full speed. Meanwhile, Ørsted’s operations and maintenance (O&M) team is getting ready to take over and ensure optimal performance of the wind farm, which will provide stable and clean energy during its more than 25-year lifetime.
“Managing the risks of the key component fabrication, vessel mobilization and installation of the offshore wind farm has been imperative during the COVID-19 pandemic,” adds Ulrik Lange, co-CEO of the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm. “We have given the highest priority to optimized planning, risk mitigation and adapting to challenges in this full-scale offshore wind construction project.”
