Ørsted Announces Completion of 920 MW Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 1, Ørsted held the completion and operations & maintenance ceremony for the Greater Changhua 2b and 4 offshore wind farms at its Taichung Port Operations and Maintenance Hub. The 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b and 4 offshore wind projects have completed their major construction works and are now entering the final commissioning phase. Ørsted expects the projects to achieve full commercial operation by the end of the third quarter of 2026, following the completion of remaining commissioning works and satisfaction of contractual and regulatory requirements.

Located approximately 35–60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County, Greater Changhua 2b and 4 consists of the 337 MW Greater Changhua 2b and the 583 MW Greater Changhua 4, with a total of 66 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD offshore wind turbines installed, each with a capacity of 14 MW. Offshore construction commenced in February 2025, turbine installation began in April of the same year, and the final turbine was installed in January 2026. Following the installation of all 66 turbines, work continued on inter-array cables, export cables, grid connection, and turbine commissioning.

The project employed 66 suction bucket jacket foundations during construction, marking the first time this type of piling-free foundation technology has been adopted in an offshore wind project of this scale in the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, damage to the Greater Changhua 2b export cable led to adjustments in the project's commissioning schedule. When Ørsted updated its project progress in August this year, the overall project completion stood at approximately 85%, with all 42 turbines of Greater Changhua 4 already in operation, while the Greater Changhua 2b export cable remained in the subsequent construction phase. The completion of major construction works now constitutes a new substantive milestone for the project since the August progress update.

The electricity generated by the Greater Changhua 2b and 4 projects has been secured through corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs). According to Ørsted's data, the project has a corporate power purchase agreement signed with TSMC in 2020, making it one of the first projects in the Asia-Pacific region to supply renewable electricity to corporate customers through CPPAs from a large-scale offshore wind project. Once the 920 MW project is fully operational, the total installed capacity of Ørsted's Greater Changhua offshore wind cluster will reach 1.82 GW, with the previously operational Greater Changhua 1 and 2a totaling approximately 900 MW.

The project's shareholding structure is also tied to the commercial operation milestone. The 583 MW Greater Changhua 4 is currently owned 50% each by Ørsted and Cathay Life Insurance. The 632 MW Greater Changhua 2 consists of the operational 295 MW Greater Changhua 2a and the 337 MW Greater Changhua 2b. Ørsted has signed agreements with Cathay Life Insurance and Cathay Power for the latter to acquire a 55% stake in the Greater Changhua 2 project, with a transaction value of approximately DKK 5 billion. The transaction is scheduled to be completed upon Greater Changhua 2 reaching commercial operation. Greater Changhua 2 has previously secured approximately NT$90 billion in project financing, with participation from 25 banks and 5 export credit agencies.