Ørsted’s Taiwanese Offshore Wind Farm Generates First Power

Ørsted has announced that the second phase of Formosa 1, Taiwan’s soon-to-be first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, produced first power.

Danish wind energy major and the leading offshore wind energy firm in the world, Ørsted has announced that on September 5, 2019, the company’s second phase of Formosa 1, Taiwan’s soon-to-be first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, produced first power.

The second phase of Formosa 1 will comprise 20 Siemens Gamesa 6 MW offshore wind turbines. 10 of these have now been installed, and six of them have started gradually generating power. 

When the first of the new wind turbines started generating clean renewable energy, it set a new milestone for Taiwan’s offshore wind industry and marked the first step towards achieving the Taiwanese government’s ambitions of installing 5.7 GW offshore wind by 2025.

Wind turbine commissioning is the last stage before the completion of an offshore wind farm. Before the commercial operation, each wind turbine needs to go through a power generation test lasting between 10 to 14 days to complete the commissioning stage. The 20 wind turbines for the second phase of Formosa 1 are expected to be fully operational within the next two months. 

Matthias Bausenwein, Formosa 1 chairman and president of Ørsted Asia-Pacific, said that first power from the second phase of Formosa 1 is a major milestone for the project before completion. An achievement by the Formosa 1 team and all its supply chain partners.

“Together with our joint venture partners, JERA, Macquarie Capital and Swancor, we’ll keep devoting our efforts to building Taiwan’s first offshore wind farm on time and within budget. Formosa 1 is committed to producing significant amounts of clean energy and contribute to Taiwan’s energy transition.”

The Formosa 1 offshore wind farm includes two phases: two 4 MW wind turbines were installed in October 2016 for the first phase and officially entered commercial operation in April 2017. The second phase involves the installation of 20 6-MW wind turbines. Formosa 1 is located approximately 2-6 km off the coast of Miaoli County. The total power generation capacity for Formosa 1 is 128 MW, enabling it to supply 128,000 Taiwanese households with clean renewable energy.

The Formosa 1 offshore wind farm is owned by Ørsted (35 percent), JERA (32.5 percent), Macquarie Capital (25 percent), and Swancor Renewable Energy (7.5 percent).