Ørsted Picks Greater Changhua Cable Installation Partner

Ørsted has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Woen Jinn Harbour Engineering to make the Taiwanese company the preferred offshore cable installation partner for the Greater Changhua offshore wind projects.

Under the terms of the MoU, Ørsted will be the preferred offshore wind developer to Woen Jinn for tapping into the industry in Taiwan.

“We believe that this collaboration will not only bring more opportunities to Woen Jinn in Taiwan, but it will also support our partner to become a competitive offshore wind cable installation supplier in Asia,” Matthias Bausenwein, Ørsted’s General Manager Asia Pacific and Chairman Taiwan, said.

Besides supporting the company in identifying potential, future business partners to become a competitive offshore power cable installation contractor in Asia, Ørsted will, as the company said, also provide the Taiwanese company with advice and knowledge regarding needs and standards relevant for high HSE and competitive installation of both export and array cables.

Lee Ming Chuan, Chairman of Woen Jinn Harbour Engineering, said: “In the past few months, Ørsted’s experienced engineering team has visited our company many times to share offshore cable installation standards and technical expertise. Ørsted is not only the preferred partner for Woen Jinn, but also the driving force to develop Taiwan’s offshore wind supply chain.”

Woen Jinn completed the cable installation for Phase 1 Formosa 1, the first offshore wind project in Taiwan, in which Ørsted has a 35% stake.

Prior to signing this agreement, Ørsted signed MoUs with two other Taiwanese companies for turbine foundation manufacturing and the construction and assembly of underwater foundation substructures for Greater Changhua.

The Greater Changhua project includes four sites located 35 to 60 kilometers off the Changhua coast, with the total capacity expected to be 2.4GW.

Recently, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) review panel gave a recommended approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the four sites.

Ørsted now awaits the final approval by the EIA General Assembly, which is expected to gather in the first quarter of 2018, and once the projects have received all permits, the onshore construction will start in 2019.