NIRAS, Sinotech to Advise on Taiwanese New Offshore Wind Farm

Taipower has signed a contract with NIRAS and Sinotech as advisors for a new Taiwanese wind farm of up to 100MW.

In a joint venture, the companies will provide client advice for Changhua Offshore Wind Farm, for which the construction is due to begin in 2018. The wind farm will have a capacity of about 100MW.

The scope includes basic design, tendering, review of detailed design and supervision in the construction phase besides general technical advice, training and capacity building including HSE (Health, Safety and Environment).

As the Taiwanese portfolio has become significant, NIRAS has hired its first local employee, C. Y. Lu, a former vice president of the Taiwanese consultancy company SOIC that specializes in R&D in the shipping and offshore industries.

C. Y. Lu will be NIRAS’ link between Denmark and Taiwan and will attend all meetings where the working language is Chinese. He will also maintain a sales function in relation to potential customers.

The contract represents the seventh project for NIRAS in Taiwan.

Regarding the project and the challenges it might encounter, Tore Lucht, Expertise Director in NIRAS, said: “The professional challenges include Taiwan not having a suitable hub harbor, lack of industry standard manufacturing experience and other required facilities to support the country’s rising offshore wind industry.”

CORRECTION: The project’s name initially read Changhua Offshore Wind Farm (Fuhai Offshore Wind Farm), referring to another project. The Changhua county has two wind farms, and the project in question is the first phase of Taipower’s Changhua Offshore Wind Farm. The featured image has been replaced accordingly.