WPD has signed supply agreements with several contractors for the 350MW Guanyin project off the coast of Taoyuan, in Taiwan.
MHI Vestas will supply 36 V164 turbines, including the local production of towers at CS Wind Taiwan.
Formosa Heavy Industry and CTCI Machinery will provide the monopile foundation structures.
The foundations will be installed by Seaway 7’s Seaway Yudin, while Fred Olsen Windcarrier will be responsible for the installation of the wind turbines.
The latter will continue to utilise Brave Tern – one of its special purpose-built jack-up installation vessels that arrived in Taiwan in July 2020 to start working on the Asian emerging market.
Installation on Guanyin begins in the summer of 2022, according to the offshore marine transportation company.
The submarine cables are expected to be laid by CSBC Deme Wind Engineering (CDWE).
GE Taiwan will build an onshore substation.
The O&M contract with Deutsche Windtechnik includes a crew transfer vessel locally built in Taiwan.
The agreements mean, after securing the remaining permits from the Taiwanese government, construction is ready to start with planned commissioning in 2022
WPD COO Achim Berge Olsen said: “We have fulfilled our promise to deliver the project. It is ready for construction and includes a very strong footprint of the local industry.
“For this we are prepared to invest €1.7bn as soon as we receive the final confirmation by the Taiwanese authorities.”
Following the successful Yunlin transaction, the second major wpd offshore project is underlining wpd’s expansion strategy in the rapidly growing Asian market.
“The success of the projects in Taiwan is key for Taiwan’s role as preferred market for investors and as hub for the region”, Berge Olsen added.
Fred Olsen Windcarrier added it aims to engage various local stakeholders in their scope of work.
This may include ship agencies, installation port authorities, steel fabricators, engineering consultancies and R&D and education centres among others.
Fred Olsen Ocean regional manager APAC Hans Hansen said: “We are looking forward to bringing our European experience and capabilities to the project, working with the local supply chain in Taiwan.”