TECO is rumored to have signed a framework agreement with several domestic and overseas offshore wind power developer and a globally renowned permanent-magnet wind turbine manufacturer for its imminent expansion in the offshore wind power market, and will be producing stator-rotor prototypes for wind turbines. At the same time, TECO will be striving to manufacture the wind turbine prototypes required after 2025 alongside its partners of the agreement.
TECO has yet to disclose its working partners, though this will be the first time for a local suppliers to officially penetrate into the production of offshore wind turbines. As reported, the framework agreement signed by TECO comprises the procurement of stator-rotor prototypes for wind turbines prior to 2025, and hopes to seize on the commercial opportunities for the block development of the wind farms in Taiwan after 2025.
After fighting in the field of wind power for many years, TECO is now equipped with tangible achievements in the relevant applications of permanent-magnet and wound-rotor power generators, and had established an operating 2MW wind turbine at the Inner Mongolia wind farm in 2010, as well as pointed out that the production of critical components and parts will become the second product for the company in entering the offshore wind power industry, after the contracted projects of substations.
TECO commented that a power generator is the core of a wind turbine system, and there are 3 major challenges in manufacturing power generators for offshore wind power apart from the elevated power generation volume. The first one is that the product must possess a high level of reliability due to the difficult maintenance of offshore wind farm, and the second being the small volume and reduced weight of power generators owing to the need of increasing the power density as wind turbines are usually installed at an elevation of more than 50 stories, whereas the third points to the heat dissipation capacity in order to adapt to the climate environment in Taiwan. The certification of the prototypes manufactured by TECO, as well as the assimilation into the supply chain list for suppliers of wind power generator systems, will become an indicator for the government in actuating the localization of critical components and parts for offshore wind power.
TECO has obtained terrestrial turnkey projects including the 900MW Changfang and Xidao Wind Farm, and will continue to strive to acquire the offshore wind substation projects such as Hai Long and Formosa III prior to 2025 through its advantages in the autonomous power equipment and remote surveillance system, with commercial opportunities predicted to surpass NT$8.5 billion. The government is expected to release 1GW of installed capacity each year after 2025, and the relevant substation engineering, as well as the maintenance subsequent to operation, will be the focus of TECO.
(Cover photo is a sketch, source: TECO)