Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has been contracted to supply an additional 120 megawatts of capacity for Formosa 1 Phase 2, an offshore wind power plant in Taiwan.
In addition to the turbine supply agreement, a 15-year full-service agreement was also signed and includes the provision of spare parts and tools to help ensure the reliability and optimal performance of the turbines. The installation of the 20 SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines will start in 2019. They will expand the total capacity of Formosa 1 wind power plant to 128 megawatts.
SGRE signed the contract together with the owner’s consortium partners including Macquarie Capital, Ørsted and lead developer Swancor Renewable Energy Co. When completed, Formosa 1 will be the first project successfully built as part of the official Taiwanese Grant Scheme. The program defined by the government in 2012 supports an offshore turbine fleet of up to 520 megawatts to be in operation by 2020.
With the authorities aiming to see 5.5 GW grid capacity distributed for installations between 2020 and 2025, the Taiwanese offshore wind market is a high-potential segment. To this end, the government has announced a tender for which several developers are presenting bids; the results of the first round of winning projects are due to be released at the end of April.
Siemens Gamesa has been preparing for the offshore business in Taiwan. A new Taipei office to serve as its regional offshore wind hub in Asia Pacific, excluding mainland China, opened in 2017. After a first agreement with Taiwan International Ports Corporation in late 2017, a second Memorandum of Understanding was signed in February 2018 with Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group and a third one last week with Swancor Holdings Co. to collaborate on the development of the offshore wind supply chain in Taiwan.
Other recent news coverage for Taiwan offshore wind power plants includes:
MHI Vestas signs preferred supplier agreements for 1.5 GW in Taiwan
Danish firms form Taiwanese offshore joint venture
TGP creates $2.96b JV
