Offshore wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy plans to expand its offshore wind turbine nacelle assembly facility in Taichung, Taiwan to form a regional offshore wind nacelle industrial hub together with Taiwan-based suppliers.
The first project to be supported by the broader manufacturing plant will be the 300 MW Hai Long 2 project, being developed by Northland and its partner Yushan Energy.
Siemens Gamesa, which has over 3,500 offshore wind turbines in operation globally, said Friday that the expansion is subject to certain conditions including Hai Long 2’s Industrial Relevance Proposal (IRP) being approved by the Taiwanese authorities, and final investment decision by the project partners.
Siemens Gamesa was named as the preferred supplier for the project's offshore wind turbines in November 2019.
The nacelle facility is currently under construction and will start production in 2021 to deliver nacelles to Orsted’s Greater Changhua 1&2a offshore wind power project.
Expansion to begin in 2022
Once the nacelle assembly work is completed in 2022, Taichung factory expansion will start. It will include doubling the plot area to over 60,000 m2, as well as at least doubling the number of Siemens Gamesa employees working in the factory.
Two new production halls and a new warehouse will be constructed, encompassing local hub, and backend production in Taiwan for Siemens Gamesa’s offshore wind turbine technology.
"This will open a compelling opportunity for a vast range of local suppliers to feed components directly to the factory, thanks to high proximity, and short transportation time to Taichung," Siemens Gamesa said.
"Our actions to localize and expand nacelle manufacturing in Taiwan demonstrate our strong beliefs in both the Taiwanese market and the Asia Pacific region as a whole. Supported by proactive policies, strong wind resources, and a proven contribution to combatting climate change, offshore wind is an essential element in the energy mix around the globe,” states Andreas Nauen, CEO of the Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit.
Going local
In 2019, Siemens Gamesa and Yeong Guan Group (YGG) sealed an agreement for localized hub and base frame castings for Hai Long 2. YGG will build a new global casting production factory for offshore wind in Taichung, neighboring Siemens Gamesa’s plot.
Additionally, Siemens Gamesa has now signed four conditional contracts for the localization of six different type of nacelle components for Hai Long 2.
All of these components will be delivered to Siemens Gamesa’s Taichung factory as part of the localized nacelle production process. Similarly to the deal made with YGG, three of those contracts include the setup of new local production facilities:
“We are very glad to announce the reinforcement of our local supplier footprint with four very experienced wind component manufacturers, and a local company. We are confident that they can contribute to our vision to create a greater industrial hub in Taiwan, as a foundation for future exports, and we are looking forward to work with them on the Hai Long 2 project” said Niels Steenberg, Executive General Manager of Siemens Gamesa Offshore for Asia-Pacific.
David Povall, Executive Vice President for Development at Northland Power said: “Our selection of Siemens Gamesa as preferred supplier not only makes sense commercially for the project but also strategically for Taiwan. Hai Long’s IRP places specific focus on the export capability of the local supply chain. Our construction and operation timeline allows us to look at new technologies that will be state of the art within APAC. On top of that, local talents will be trained as we go. Hence, through Hai Long as the Anchor Project, Taiwan will truly become the APAC Offshore Wind Export Hub for new technology, service, and talents.”