Final Batch of Pin Piles Loaded and Ready for Greater Changhua Site

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has completed the final pin pile load-out for Ørsted’s Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind project in Taiwan.

In July 2021, all of the 333 pin-piles that will support the wind farm’s three-legged jacket foundations were manufactured, according to Ørsted.

The first units were made by Taiwanese suppliers Century Wind Power (CWP) and Formosa Heavy Industries (FHI), as well as German fabricator Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk in 2020, while EEW Group completed the production and delivered 123 pin piles for the offshore wind project a year later.

A joint venture between Mammoet and Giant Heavy Machinery Services is responsible for the transportation of the foundation pin piles.

HMC secured a contract for the transport and installation of turbine foundations and the accompanying pin piles, and for the installation of offshore substations at the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind project in 2019.

The vessel Aegir finished the installation of the first batch of wind turbine foundation pin piles in June 2021.

According to earlier information on the project, 95 jacket foundations, 48 out of 111 Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167DD wind turbines, and over 60 per cent of pin piles have been installed at the project’s offshore construction site, located some 35 to 50 kilometres off the coast of Changhua County.

Aegir completed the foundation installation on Greater Changhua 2a in May and then moved on to do the same work on Greater Changhua 1.

A few days ago, Ørsted and Sing Da Marine Structure (SDMS) loaded out the first six jacket foundations fully manufactured in Taiwan out of the Port of Kaohsiung from where the units will be transported to the offshore wind farm site.

The 605 MW Greater Changhua 1 wind farm is owned by Ørsted (50 per cent), and a consortium comprising Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and the Taiwanese private equity fund, Cathay PE (50 per cent).

The 295 MW Changhua 2a is solely owned by Ørsted.

Ørsted has postponed the full commissioning of the wind farms from the end of 2022 to 2023, citing delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as the main reason.

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