Wind

Pioneering Taiwan-built offshore wind vessel Green Jade confirmed for gigascale debut

Belgian contractor DEME to install foundations, turbines and substation at 1GW Hai Long using first installation ship built on island

A rendering of the Green Jade.
A rendering of the Green Jade.Foto: DEME

DEME and its local partner CSBC have secured a contract worth more than €300m ($302m) to install foundations, turbines and a substation at the Northland Power-led Hai Long offshore wind projects in Taiwan, confirming a debut for the first specialist vessel built on the island.

The Hai Long 2 and 3 wind farms will be located at 40-50km from the coast of Taiwan at a water depth of 35-55 metres, and have a joint capacity of 1.04GW when they are operational. Commissioning is foreseen to start in 2025.

The deal follows up on three years of preparation after Belgian contractor DEME was named preferred bidder for the installation of the project in 2019.

“Over the past three years we have been working closely together with the Hai Long team to overcome the many challenges of developing an offshore wind farm in Taiwan,” said Marco Kanaar, chief executive of the CDWE joint venture between DEME and CSBC.

“The Hai Long project has been a key driver in our decision to invest in the pioneering installation vessel Green Jade so we are thrilled to have reached this agreement on the transport & installation contract in which it will play a major role.”
Equipped with a 4,000-tonne main crane, DP3 and an exceptionally high loading capacity, Green Jade is designed for work in deeper waters and challenging seabed environments such as those found in Taiwan, DEME said.
The floating installation vessel is the first to be built in Taiwan to support its fast growing offshore wind sector.

Pre-piling works at the projects are set to start in 2024, after which the foundations and 73 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD wind turbines will be installed.

Hai Long won a 2018 tender with an average price of TWD2,245 ($70.64) per megawatt hour, with the Canadian utility as lead operator owning 60%. Taiwan’s Yushan energy and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui each hold another 20%.

Taiwan currently is auctioning off a first 3GW tranche of its about 9GW third round offshore wind tender, which have to be built by 2035 – on top of the 5.5GW from the first two tendering rounds including Hai Long that are slated to be up and running by 2025.
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Published 9 November 2022, 10:04Updated 9 November 2022, 18:57
Asia-PacificTaiwanDEMENorthland Power