Phase 2 of Formosa 1 offshore wind farm in Taiwan produces first power

Danish energy company Ørsted and its partners have generated first power from the second phase of the 128MW Formosa 1 offshore wind farm located in Taiwanese waters.

The second phase of the Formosa 1 project will feature 20 turbines delivered by Siemens Gamesa, which will have a combined capacity of 120MW. Each of the turbines has a capacity of 6MW. So far, 10 of the turbines of the offshore wind farm have been installed, of which six have started generating power.

The first phase of the Taiwanese offshore wind project has two 4MW wind turbines, which began operations in April 2017.

Ørsted has a stake of 35% in the Formosa 1 offshore wind farm and its partners are JERA (32.5%), Macquarie Capital (25%), and Swancor Renewable Energy (7.5%).

Formosa 1, which is Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, has been built off the coast of Miaoli County. It is expected to pave the way for the Taiwanese government to achieve 5.7GW of offshore wind capacity by 2025.

Phase 2 of Formosa 1 offshore wind farm comprises 20 6MW turbines from Siemens Gamesa. Photo courtesy of Ørsted A/S.

Matthias Bausenwein – Formosa 1 Chairman and President of Ørsted Asia-Pacific said: “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 our 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.”

Ørsted said that each of the wind turbines at the Formosa 1 second phase will undergo a power generation test, prior to commercial operations, for a period of 10-14 days to wrap up the commissioning stage. The 20 wind turbines are slated to be fully operational by November 2019.

The Formosa 1 offshore wind farm will be able to meet the power consumption needs of 128,000 Taiwanese households. The power generated from Formosa 1 will be supplied to Taipower under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) signed in December 2017.