Offshore wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has officially inaugurated its new offshore facility in Taichung, Taiwan, the company’s first offshore nacelle assembly facility outside of Europe.
The facility will now be starting regular operations, after having already completed Taiwan’s very first local offshore wind turbine nacelle assembly in early August 2021.
Marc Becker, CEO of the Offshore Business Unit in Siemens Gamesa said: "Siemens Gamesa leads the way in providing wind turbine solutions for the Taiwanese offshore wind market with 2 GW of firm orders and an additional 1 GW in place as a preferred supplier.
"Today’s inauguration demonstrates our pioneering spirit and commitment to leading the offshore revolution in the market and the APAC region. Working with dedicated, local professionals who strive to safely increase the deployment of offshore wind power energizes us to continue with our global growth plans."
According to Siemens Gamesa, the piece of land developed in Taichung measures over 30,000 square meters and is currently used for nacelle assembly, testing, warehousing, office buildings, and outdoor storage. Construction started in April 2020 and was completed in Q3 this year. It will support Ørsted’s 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms, which will employ SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines.
It will also provide an option for future projects in Taiwan and in the rest of the region.
"As part of the ramp-up program of the facility, Siemens Gamesa committed to supporting local offshore wind professionals, and developing their skills to match world-class manufacturing standards. Since May 2021, approximately 80 nacelle technicians received Siemens Gamesa Technical Trainings through a partnership with the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre. This dedicated training plan was crucial to enabling the on-time production start in August 2021," the company said.
"Siemens Gamesa pioneered the entire offshore wind industry in Taiwan in 2016 with the installation of the first two turbines at the 8 MW Formosa 1 Phase 1 pilot project. A ten-fold increase in machines to 20 units was installed in 2019 at Formosa 1 Phase 2. Totaling 128 MW, Formosa 1 was the country’s first commercial offshore wind power project," Siemens Gamesa said.