Jan De Nul’s offshore jack-up vessel Taillevent has successfully installed the very first Hitachi turbine onto its jacket foundation for the Taiwan Power Company (TPC).
With the first wind turbine installation completed, the project team will now proceed with the commissioning process, along with the final termination of the subsea cable inside the tower.
The TPC Offshore Wind Farm near Fangyuan, eight kilometres off the West coast of Taiwan, will comprise in total 21 units of 5.2MW wind turbines, each installed on a jacket with transition piece, anchored to the seabed by four steel pin piles.
The turbines are being installed by the Taillevent, specifically designed for the transport and installation of offshore wind turbines and foundations.
The vessel measures approximately 140m in length and is equipped with six spuds. She has an on-board crane with a lifting capacity of 1,000 tonnes and an auxiliary crane of 50 tonnes.
Jan De Nul Group offshore division director Philippe Hutse said: “The successful installation of the first wind turbine on TPC’s first offshore wind farm is a remarkable achievement and the result of the good cooperation between Jan De Nul and Hitachi.
“We never lost sight of our goals, even in these unprecedented COVID-19 times. We look forward to producing green energy in Taiwan.”
The project, in particular the wind turbine installation campaign, has suffered significant delays due to restrictions and new regulations implemented by authorities in Taiwan and around the globe as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The TPC Offshore Wind Farm is constructed in a region where typhoons are very common.
Consortium partner Hitachi Ltd. pioneered this design by obtaining the Wind Turbine Class T certification, an international standard on wind-resistant design recognising the need in regions subject to frequent typhoons.
Hitachi general manager of energy solutions Jiro Yasuda said:”We are very proud of seeing our turbines installed in the open sea. Seeing this is a reward for all our staff who have put so many hours into this project.
“We would like to thank Jan De Nul for its remarkable support over the past years.”