Siemens to supply its first offshore wind power project in Taiwan

Siemens AG said Wednesday its Wind Power and Renewables Division has signed a supply deal with an electric power division of Swancor Ind. Co. (??), marking its first offshore wind power project in Taiwan.

The preparation work for the Formosa 1 Offshore Wind Farm Phase 1 project between Siemens Wind Power and Renewables and Taiwan-based Formosa I Wind Power Co. (??????) has been initiated to build two wind turbines.

The project will be implemented around 6 kilometers off the west coast of Miaoli County (??) adjacent to the Taiwan Strait, in water depths of around 15 to 30 meters, Siemens said in a statement.

The German engineering company will use its SWT-4.0-120 wind turbines of the G4 product platform, each with a capacity of 4 megawatts, in the project.

In addition, Formosa has awarded Siemens a 10-year service and maintenance agreement to help ensure the reliability and optimal performance of the turbines, which is the company’s first offshore service agreement for a wind power project in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s government intends to expand offshore wind power to a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts by 2030.

“It symbolizes an important milestone in the development of Taiwan’s renewable and offshore wind power. Through the cooperation between Siemens and Formosa I Wind Power Co., we are looking forward to helping Taiwan develop a diverse energy mix,” said Siemens Taiwan President and CEO Erdal Elver.

The project also fulfills Siemens’ “Grow Taiwan Together” plan and will enable the company to take a big step forward in assisting Taiwan to develop clean energy and pave the way for a sustainable energy future, he told a media briefing.

Elver said Taiwan has “great potential” to develop wind power, which still only represents a small fraction (0.8 percent) of Taiwan’s actual energy generation mix.

The offshore wind resources around the west coast of Taiwan are abundant, with a potential capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts in water depths of less than 50 meters, Elver said.

That means offshore wind power energy along Taiwan’s western coast is expected to drive 4,000 full-load hours, about 10-15 percent higher than European projects, Elver said.

The full-load hours refer to the number of hours per year that the wind speed at a given site is at least 10 meters per second. That is to say, winds are strong enough for the turbine to generate power at full capacity.