Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) was chosen as the preferred supplier for Bremen-based wpd's Yunlin offshore wind power project in Taiwan, the company announced Thursday.
German wind power developer wpd and SGRE signed a letter of intent for exclusive negotiations on the delivery of 80 units of SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines, including a 15-year, long-term service agreement, the press release said.
The project, to be located approximately six kilometers offshore from the Taiwan Strait, recently received grid allocation from the Taiwanese government, and will reach a total capacity of 640 megawatts (MW), the statement added.
Construction will start in 2019, with turbine installation beginning in 2020, it said.
The letter of intent, which is still subject to final contract, will remain valid until July 2019.
Andreas Nauen, offshore CEO at SGRE, said they were 'delighted to have been selected by wpd and glad to confirm today that our cutting edge offshore wind turbine, the SG 8.0-167, is ready for the Taiwanese market from 2020'.
'We look forward to this preferred supplier agreement soon becoming a confirmed order,' he added.
Niels Steenberg, SGRE general manager offshore for the Asia-Pacific region, said the project, as the first large-scale project in the region, would play a crucial role in the development of the offshore wind industry in Taiwan.
'Today, we are closely working with wpd to meet the targeted timeline, and ensure required infrastructure will be in place for successful implementation,' he added.
With a target of 520 MW installed by 2020, and a capacity of 3.8 gigawatts for offshore wind projects in the first round of its grid allocation mechanism, the Taiwanese government has sent strong signals to establish an offshore industry starting in 2020, according to the statement.
'To support this ambitious goal, Siemens Gamesa has already signed several Memoranda of Understanding with local partners,” it said.
'Further work we are doing with separate MoU partners including Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group, and Swancor Holdings Co. are all aimed at developing the Taiwanese offshore wind industry,' Nauen added.
SGRE is a leader in the global offshore market, with over 2,300 offshore wind turbines in operation and a combined capacity of more than 11 gigawatts.
SGRE was recently awarded an order to deliver 20 SWT-6.0-154 offshore wind turbines for Taiwan’s 120 MW Formosa 1 Phase 2 offshore wind power plant, along with a 15-year service agreement in Taiwan.
In 2016, the company installed Taiwan’s first offshore wind power plant, the 8 MW Formosa 1, Phase 1 demonstration project.
In 2017, Siemens Gamesa was the number one company in the wind power industry, with a 17 percent share of new capacity installed, according to MAKE Consulting, a part of the Wood Mackenzie Group.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr