Global offshore wind developer Ørsted inaugurated the Ørsted Taiwan Offshore Wind Farms Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Hub. Located at the Port of Taichung, the O&M hub is the first operations facility with green design and the largest in terms of size and offshore service capacity in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s built with the aim to serve four Greater Changhua offshore wind farms with a combined capacity of approximately 2.4 GW.
With its build-to-operate business model, Ørsted began O&M deployment in 2018 with a strategic plan to establish full-scale operations. The company established a local O&M team of technicians and operations professionals, launched a customized service operation vessel (SOV), and invested in building the 7,868.15 m2 O&M hub.
Mads Nipper, Group President and CEO of Ørsted, said, “Taiwan is our first market of entry in Asia-Pacific and home to our regional headquarters. We’re contributing significantly to Taiwan’s energy transition through the 1.82 GW capacity we’ve been awarded and more than 5.6 GW of new projects in the pipeline. The inauguration of our O&M hub, which is the first operations facility we’ve built outside of Europe and a significant investment we’ve made in this market, clearly demonstrates our long-term commitment to Taiwan and our dedication to create a world that runs entirely on green energy.”
Christy Wang, General Manager of Ørsted Taiwan, said, “Ørsted teams have been committed to sharing our more than 30 years of expertise and experience with Taiwan since day one through introducing our industry-leading build-to-operate business model. The unique O&M hub, together with the bespoke SOV and the Taiwanese O&M team, are excellent examples of how we ensure stable, clean energy output and have pioneered the offshore wind industry across wind farm lifecycles. We’ll remain Taiwan’s most reliable green energy partner and continue to drive industry changes to create values and benefits.”
The hub is designed to oversee the daily operations of offshore wind farms, ensure optimal clean energy output, and manage all safety aspects related to the works carried out by the offshore O&M technicians. Moreover, the facility uses locally manufactured, energy-saving, and sustainable materials to reduce carbon footprint and contribute to Ørsted’s 2025 carbon neutrality goal.
Ørsted has also set up a learning center at the O&M hub to welcome local communities and stakeholders to learn about offshore wind and inspire the next generation of professionals and talent.
Ørsted is the largest shareholder (35 %) of Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, Formosa 1, which was extended from a capacity of 8 MW to 128 MW in 2019.
The Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms are located 35-60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County and have a capacity of approximately 900 MW to provide clean energy to one million households in Taiwan.
Ørsted was awarded grid capacity of the 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4 Offshore Wind Farms through an auction in June 2018 and signed a corporate power purchase agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) in July 2020. The Greater Changhua 2b & 4 Offshore Wind Farms will be commissioned in 2025/2026, subject to grid availability and Ørsted’s final investment decision.
Ørsted has 5.6 GW of projects in the pipeline. The developer has kick-started the environmental impact assessments of the Xu Feng 1, 2 and 3 offshore wind projects, which are located 37-62 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County with a total potential capacity of 2.1 GW, and Wo Neng 1 & 2 offshore wind projects, which are located 42 kilometers off the coast of Taichung with a potential capacity of 3 GW. Ørsted will utilize the Xu Feng and Wo Neng projects, as well as the 570 MW Greater Changhua 3 project, which has already obtained EIA approval, to take an active role in the forthcoming Zonal Development phase.