Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy officially inaugurated a new offshore nacelle assembly facility in Taiwan earlier this month — the company’s first outside of Europe.
As announced in 2019, the facility will now commence regular operations, after having already
completed Taiwan’s very first local offshore wind turbine nacelle assembly in early August. This represents another important milestone for the company in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region, as well as for the offshore wind industry in Taiwan.
Marc Becker, CEO of the Offshore Business Unit in Siemens Gamesa, said: “We lead the way in providing wind turbine solutions for the Taiwanese offshore wind market with 2GW of firm orders and an additional 1GW in place as preferred supplier. This 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 energises us to continue with our global growth plans.”
The 30,000m
2 site developed in Taichung is currently used for nacelle assembly, testing, warehousing, office buildings, and outdoor storage. Construction started in April 2020 and was completed in the third quarter of 2021.
It will support Ørsted’s 900MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a Offshore Wind Farms, which will consist of SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines. It will also provide an option for future projects in Taiwan and the wider region.
Siemens Gamesa pioneered the entire offshore wind industry in Taiwan in 2016 with the installation of the first two turbines at the 8MW Formosa 1 Phase 1 pilot project. A ten-fold increase in machines to 20 units was installed in 2019 at Formosa 1 Phase 2. Totalling 128MW, it was the country’s first commercial offshore wind power project.