Orsted has signed a wharf lease and a 20-year operations and maintenance lease with the Port of Taichung for work on offshore wind farms off Taiwan.
The wharfs will be upgraded and used for construction of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms, while the O&M site will be the operations base for the projects from 2022 onwards.
The wharf is managed by the Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC), while the O&M sited is managed by TIPC Marine Construction.
Orsted said the Port of Taichung had been selected as the most suitable O&M base for the wind farms due to its proximity to the sites, water depth, wharf facilities and navigational access quality.
The Danish company said it will “invest significantly” in building the new O&M base to provide long-term operations and maintenance services for the wind farms.
Upgrade work at the leased wharf has already started in order to be ready to store components, such as pin piles, towers and blades.
The wharf lease with the Port of Taichung will cover the period during which Orsted plans to install at least 1.82GW offshore wind capacity in Taiwan.
Construction of the O&M building will begin in 2020, with expected inauguration in 2022.
It is being designed by the MAA Group’s local arm.
Port of Taichung Taiwan International Ports Corporation president Lu Chan-yu said: “Orsted’s investment in the Port of Taichung for supporting the construction and O&M of the Greater Changhua wind farms will help further develop industries related to offshore wind industry and create a lot of local jobs.
“Also, it enables the Port of Taichung to play an important role in the construction and operation of offshore wind farms.
“TIPC welcomes Orsted’s investment and look forwards to working together on furthering offshore wind industry development in Taiwan.”
Orsted Asia-Pacific president Matthias Bausenwein said: “The 20-year lease with the Port of Taichung shows our long-term commitment to fully developing and implementing projects in Changhua County.
“We want to ensure that we are well prepared for the continuing offshore wind development in Taiwan by upgrading the harbour infrastructure for construction and operations works.
“We also expect that during the O&M phase, our Greater Changhua wind farms will create several hundred local direct and indirect jobs with our contractors and suppliers.
“These efforts are a win-win situation for the development of the offshore wind industry and local communities.”
Orsted Asia-Pacific head of operations Andreas Munk-Janson said: “Orsted pioneers offshore wind in Taiwan by investing in the construction of a brand-new building, serving as the O&M base for our offshore wind farms.
“Once we’ve completed the construction of this building, the onshore-based O&M staff and management team will be stationed there to support the offshore-based O&M teams for these wind farms.
“Drawing on Orsted’s extensive experience in operating offshore wind farms, the building design has been optimised to drive operational efficiency.”