Danish offshore wind farm developer Ørsted has completed the sale of 50% stake in the 605 MW Greater Changhua 1 offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
The agreement to sell half of its stake in the wind farm project to global investment group Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Cathay PE was first announced in December 2020. It was then said that CDPQ would be the majority owner among the two new partners.
The Greater Changhua 1 site is part of the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm, which Ørsted is currently constructing and expects to finalize in 2022.
Ørsted said in December 2020 that the total value of the transaction was around TWD 75 billion - around DKK 16 billion (USD 3.63 billion) which is to be paid during 2021 and 2022.
As part of the agreement, Ørsted will build the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm under a full-scope EPC contract. Ørsted will also provide long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) services from its O&M base at the Port of Taichung.
Greater Changhua 1 & 2 a will be located 35-60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County. With a total capacity of 900 MW, Greater Changhua 1 & 2a will be able to supply around 1 million Taiwanese households with electricity.
The Greater Changhua 2b & 4 projects are to be built in 2025, subject to grid availability and Ørsted taking final investment decision on the projects in 2023.
Ørsted is also the co-owner of Taiwan's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, Formosa 1, which was extended from a capacity of 8 MW to 128 MW in 2019.