SGRE signed the contract with 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 programme defined by the Taiwanese government in 2012 envisages an offshore wind turbine fleet totalling 520 MW by 2020.
The project is located around six kilometres off the west coast of the Miaoli district in the Taiwan Strait with water depths between 15 to 30 metres. The Siemens Gamesa wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations. This foundation has already proven its suitability in the local sea bed conditions when the first two SWT-4.0-130 turbines were installed during Phase 1.
The contract comes only one year after the successful commissioning of the wind farm. However, the contract at present is still subject to a final investment decision and financial close, both of which are expected later this year. In addition to the turbine supply agreement, a 15-year full service agreement has been signed, including 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 begin in 2019.
“We are proud to be involved with the Formosa 1 development team in this pioneering project, which We started a few years ago with Phase 1, and are now able to continue with even more advanced technology” said SGRE Offshore CEO Andreas Nauen. “This contract is an important milestone for the development of offshore wind in the region, so it is an important step for Siemens Gamesa to support Taiwan in implementing a reliable and efficient energy system to meet the government's targets for decarbonisation”.
The Taiwanese government is aiming for 5.5 GW of grid capacity from distributed energy installation between 2020 and 2025, with the Taiwan offshore wind market a major factor. To this end, the government has announced a tender and several developers are submitting bids. The result of the first round of winning projects is due to be announced by the end of April. Siemens Gamesa is responding to this by building a firm presence in the Taiwan offshore market. In 2017, the company opened a new office in Taipei which serves as its regional offshore wind hub in APAC, excluding mainland China.
A second Memorandum of Understanding was signed in February 2018 with Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group and a third MoU last week with Swancor Holdings Co., both of which are focused on the development of the offshore wind supply chain in Taiwan.
Siemens, Gamesa currently has Approximately 2,300 offshore wind turbines in operational globally with a combined capacity of more than 11 GW.
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