Ørsted of Denmark signed on Nov. 29 a letter of intent for cooperation with Kaohsiung-headquartered Woen Jinn Harbor Engineering for joint development of a wind farm project off the coast of Changhua, with Woen Jinn being the priority cable supplier for Ørsted and Ørsted the wind turbine supplier for Woen Jinn.
Founded in 1985, Woen Jinn is the leader for offshore cable installation in Taiwan, with the track record of several submarine power cable and communications cable projects, including the first-stage submarine cable installation engineering for Taiwan's first offshore wind farm "Formosa 1."
Matthias Bausenwein, Asia-Pacific general manager of Ørsted and chairman of its Taiwan branch, remarked that "To build an offshore wind farm amid volatile ocean, poses as a major challenge, which has been compounded by the strong wind and high waves of the Taiwan Strait. Therefore, we are very glad to sign the memorandum of cooperation with Woen Jinn which has abundant oceanic engineering experience."
"I believe that the partnership will not only bring Woen Jinn more business opportunities but also help it become a competitive offshore cable installation supplier in Asia. In the future, Ørsted will assist even more Taiwanese firms developing expertise in offshore wind power," added Bausenwein.
Li Min-chuan, chairman of Woen Jinn, noted that "Backed by abundant experience in constructing offshore wind farm in Europe, Ørsted's professional engineering team has visited Woen Jinn many times over the past several months, to share with us technology and knowledge for offshore power installation."
"From our discussions with Ørsted's representatives on the project, we can strongly feel its sense of mission for the project and its commitment to helping local enterprises develop wind-power expertise. Ørsted not only is Woen's partner with top priority but also will become a major force pushing the development of Taiwan's wind-power supply chain," added Li.
Highlights of the memorandum of cooperation signed by the two parties on Nov. 29 include:
1. Ørsted will consider Woen Jinn its priority local offshore power cable installation supplier and Woen Jinn will consider Ørsted its priority offshore wind power developer, jointly tapping into Taiwa's offshore wind farm market
2. Ørsted will supply to the needs of Woen Jinn for offshore power-cable installation featuring high quality, high-standard environmental protection, security, and hygiene, and competitiveness, as well as professional standards and knowledge.
3. Ørsted will support Woen Jinn in its bid to look for potential partners for offshore cable installation and become a competitive offshore power cable installation supplier in Asia.
Titled "Great Changhua Offshore Wind Power Development Project," the project comprises four wind fields, situated 35 to 60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua, with 2.4 GW of total installed power-generation capacity, capable of meeting the power needs of 2.8 million households in Taiwan. Having passed the screening of an environment-impact assessment task force recently, the project will be subject to the examination of an environment-impact assessment meeting next year. Onshore construction works are scheduled to break ground in 2019, after obtaining license for grid connection and construction approval.
(Cooperative media: TechNews, first photo courtesy of TechNews)