Jan De Nul has kicked off nearshore and onshore construction works for the 376MW Formosa 2 offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
Work has started at the landfall site in Miaoli County and Taichung port, the company said.
Nearshore pre-trenching works and horizontal directional drilling (HDD) from shore is underway at the landfall site. In total, four HDDs will be drilled.
Jan De Nul said that for the pre-trenching near HDD exits, the configuration of in-house developed Starfish excavators was specifically adapted to suit Taiwanese offshore wind projects.
All these works are being executed in compliance with the environmental regulations and Jan De Nul teams performed multiple beach clean-ups before start of the job, the company said.
Meanwhile at Taichung, 50km to the south, onshore works are also under way with Hung Hua Construction preparing the storage area for pin piles and jackets arriving later this year.
“These works are executed in close cooperation with the local supply chain,” Jan De Nul said.
Offshore installation works will commence later this year, it added.
Jan De Nul Group offshore renewables manager Peter De Pooter said: “Our local integration has been ongoing for years thanks to our past experience of various marine activities throughout the region.
“In the past months, we have signed several agreements with local suppliers for this project in Taiwan.
“Our local partner Hung Hua Construction has been working with us on the Formosa 1 Phase 2 project, now completed, as well as on the Changhua project and the Formosa 2 project, both under construction.
“These engagements fit perfectly in our philosophy of involving the local supply chain as much as possible.”
Jan De Nul has an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract for the foundations and subsea cables at the project.
The project will feature 47 Siemens Gamesa 8.0-167 turbines.