Ørsted Signs Greater Changhua SOV Deal

Ørsted has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Taiwan Navigation and Eastern Navigation for the development of a local service operations vessel (SOV) solution for the Greater Changhua offshore wind project in Taiwan.

Under the MoU, the two shipping companies will cooperate and provide Ørsted with SOV solutions for the offshore wind project, exchange knowledge and experiences, as well as ensure that the performance of the vessels meets the industry standards and requirements, Ørsted said.

Ørsted is currently in the process of the grid allocation review for the offshore wind project, a spokesperson from the company told Offshore WIND.

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

Earlier in February, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration concluded the review process and approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the projects.

Subject to Ørsted’s final investment decision, the construction of the first project could start as early as 2019.

The company has recently taken the final investment decision (FID) for the second phase of the Formosa 1 offshore wind farm in Chunan Town, on Taiwan’s North-Western coast. The second phase will add 20 turbines with a total capacity of 120MW to the wind farm’s current 8MW capacity.

Formosa 1 will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in Taiwan before 2020.