Offshore wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has secured, subject to final contract awards, more work in Taiwanese offshore wind space.

The company was back in November 2019 announced as a preferred supplier of offshore wind turbines for Hai Long 2A (300 MW) project.

In a statement on Wednesday, Siemens Gamesa said that the collaboration with Taiwan-based customer Hai Long Offshore Wind Project (Hai Long) had been extended to 1,044 MW.

"Siemens Gamesa’s largest offshore agreement in Taiwan to date now covers the Hai Long 2B (232 MW) and Hai Long 3 (512 MW) projects," Siemens Gamesa said.

The wind turbine maker said that its giant 14MW SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines and service for the full volume of the project are included in the preferred supplier agreement. 

"The agreement remains subject to contract and final investment decision from Hai Long consortium partners, Canadian independent power producer  Northland Power Inc. and Taiwan-based developer Yushan Energy Co., Ltd., jointly owned by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in Japan and Yushan Energy  Pte., Ltd. in Singapore. This is expected in 2022," Siemens Gamesa said.

Siemens Gamesa will deliver SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines to all three wind power projects of Hai Long. The exact number of wind turbines remains to be determined. 

The SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines are planned to be installed 50 km off the coast of Changhua County. Each turbine will have a capacity of 14 megawatts and feature a rotor diameter of 222  meters using a 108-meter long Siemens Gamesa IntegralBlades. 

The Hai Long offshore wind commitment consists of three separate projects: Hai Long 2A (300 MW), Hai Long 2B (232 MW) and Hai Long 3 (512 MW).  Recently, the 300 MW Hai Long 2A’s Industrial Relevance Proposal was conditionally approved subject to certain conditions to be fulfilled by Hai Long as agreed with the Taiwanese authorities. 

Taichung nacelle facility

Siemens Gamesa is currently constructing a Nacelle Assembly Facility in Taichung, towards start production in Q3 CY2021. With the conditional approval of the Hai Long 2A Industrial Relevance Proposal, a factory expansion will start in 2022, subject to a final investment decision by the project partners. 

"This will more than double the plot area up to approximately. 80,000 m2, as well as more than double the number of Siemens  Gamesa employees working in the factory. The expansion will broaden the production scope with new production halls to be constructed on the extended plot," Siemens Gamesa said.

Niels Steenberg, Siemens Gamesa’s Executive General Manager for Offshore in  Asia-Pacific said: “We are delighted to expand our collaboration with the Hai Long partners. With our latest technology, the SG 14-222 DD and the 1,044 MW Hai Long projects, we will be striving to unlock a lower cost of electricity and to enable the transition of the offshore wind industry from fixed-subsidies to price-based auctions. This is yet  another important for Siemens Gamesa, as well as the rest of the  offshore wind industry in Taiwan.” 

Hai Long Offshore Wind’s project director Felipe Montero stated: “As the anchor project for positioning Taiwan as the Asia-Pacific Export Hub of the offshore wind industry, Hai Long is committed to helping Taiwan develop a sustainable offshore wind industry and establish a local supply chain. Our selection of Siemens Gamesa as a preferred supplier of  WTGs for Hai Long 2A was always based on their outstanding localization proposition. Expanding our agreement with Siemens Gamesa should create  strong synergies to support Siemens Gamesa’s localization efforts,  helping us meet our commitments for Hai Long 2A and creating additional  localization opportunities for Hai Long 2B and Hai Long 3.” 

Source - www.oedigital.com