Jan De Nul Group said Wednesday it had completed the installation of all 21 offshore wind turbines for the 109.2 MW Taiwan Power Company Offshore Windfarm Phase 1 Project – Demonstration, including the installation of all subsea cables.
The TPC Offshore Wind Farm near Fangyuan, 8 kilometers off the West coast of Taiwan, is constructed in a typhoon-prone region.
Each 5.2 MW wind turbine is installed on a jacket foundation with a transition piece, anchored to the seabed using four steel pin piles, and equipped with wind turbines with a downwind rotor.
Hitachi Ltd. pioneered the downwind design, as has obtained the Wind Turbine Class T certification, an international standard on wind-resistant design recognizing the need in regions subject to frequent typhoons.
"The project teams of Jan De Nul and Hitachi now proceed with the termination and commissioning process of the complete offshore wind farm," Jan De Nul said in a statement announcing the completion of turbine installation scope.
The ‘Offshore Windfarm Phase 1 Project – Demonstration’ was awarded to the Consortium Jan De Nul – Hitachi in February 2018.
The project kicked off in September 2018 with the preparatory onshore cable works. Fabrication of the different foundation components started in 2019. The first foundations left the South Korean fabrication yards in April 2020 to the offshore wind farm site in Taiwan.
In June 2020, Jan De Nul installed the first pin piles and connected the first export cable to shore. By early August of that same year, the first jacket foundation was installed and anchored to the seabed. And on September 15 of the same year, the first wind turbine was erected.
On June 12, 2021, Jan De Nul’s Offshore Jack-Up Installation Vessel Taillevent completed the installation of the last 5.2 MW Hitachi wind turbine for Taiwan Power Company (TPC).
Jan Kop, Project Director TPC Project for Jan De Nul Group: “With this major milestone we have now reached the final stretch of the project which has challenged us in many ways, not even imaginable when we started more than three years ago.
"The COVID-19 restrictions and regulations implemented by authorities in Taiwan and around the globe have affected the project, but we have always continued with great commitment finalizing the installation of the cables, jacket foundations, and wind turbines. We thank our on- and offshore teams for the great teamwork.”
Jan De Nul Group is responsible for the design, fabrication, and installation of the foundations, the provision of the offshore vessel for the installation of the wind turbines, the supply and installation of the cables off- and onshore as well as upgrading an electrical substation. Hitachi Ltd. is in charge of manufacturing, assembly, installation, and other works related to offshore wind turbines with downwind rotors.
The consortium will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the offshore wind farm over five years.