Taiwan’s long delayed Yunlin offshore wind closes in on completion with final monopile installed
First round project awarded in 2018 was set for commissioning in 2020 but delayed by local supply chain issues, exit of EPCI Sapura and global pandemic
Taiwan’s second largest offshore wind array, the 640MW Yunlin project awarded in the nation’s first procurement round in 2018 and slated for commissioning in 2020, has finally installed the last of 80 monopile foundations, a significant step toward commissioning.
The Skyborn-led project has also installed 68 8MW Siemens Gamesa turbines, 52 of which are generating power to the grid. Only Orsted's operational 900MW 1&2a array is larger.
“Completing the foundation installation marks a crucial step towards finishing the Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm project,” said Patrick Lammers, CEO of Skyborn Renewables.
Originally led by Germany’s Wpd and now by Skyborn Renewables — owned by US private equity giant Global Infrastructure Partners — the project consortium also includes French oil major TotalEnergies, Thai utility Electricity Generating Public Company Ltd. (EGCO) and Japanese trading house Sojitz.
The project was among the first offshore wind projects awarded generous government feed-in-tariff subsidies averaging TWD5,000/MWh ($160/MWh), which have since been phased out in the ongoing Round 3.
Despite these generous rates, the wind farm struggled to get steel in the water.
The project had trouble finding locally made components under strict localisation requirements which have only grown more stringent in the Round 3.
At current rates, Yunlin could be completed by the end of the year.
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