Jan De Nul Group has installed the first offshore wind turbine for the 109.2-MW Taiwan Power Company Offshore Windfarm Phase 1 Project – Demonstration. The Hitachi turbine with downwind rotor was installed onto the jacket foundation with the company’s offshore jack-up installation vessel Taillevent.

With the first wind turbine installation completed, the project team will proceed with the commissioning process, along with the final termination of the subsea cable inside the tower. The TPC Offshore Wind Farm near Fangyuan, 8 kilometres off the West coast of Taiwan, will comprise in total 21 units of 5.2-MW wind turbines, each installed on a jacket with transition piece, anchored to the seabed by four steel pin piles.

The project, in particular the wind turbine installation campaign, has suffered significant delays due to restrictions and new regulations implemented by authorities in Taiwan and around the globe as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Downwind rotor

The TPC Offshore Wind Farm is constructed in a region where typhoons are very common. Consortium partner Hitachi Ltd. pioneered a design with downwind rotor, which was given the Wind Turbine Class T certification, an international standard on wind-resistant design for regions subject to frequent typhoons.

The turbines are being installed by the Taillevent, specifically designed for the transport and installation of offshore wind turbines and foundations. The vessel measures approximately 140 metres in length and is equipped with 6 spuds. It has an on-board crane with a lifting capacity of 1000 tonnes and an auxiliary crane of 50 tonnes.

Taiwan’s first state-owned offshore wind farm

The “Offshore Windfarm Phase 1 Project – Demonstration” was awarded to the Consortium Jan De Nul-Hitachi in February 2018. Jan De Nul is responsible for the design, fabrication and installation of the foundations, the provision of the offshore vessel for the installation of the wind turbines, the supply and installation of the cables off- and onshore as well as upgrading an electrical substation.

Hitachi Ltd. is in charge of manufacturing, assembly, installation and other works related to the offshore wind turbines with downwind rotor. Subsequently, the consortium is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the offshore wind farm over five years.

Jan De Nul Group started the construction works for the offshore wind farm back in September 2018 with the preparatory onshore cable duct installation works to connect the existing onshore sub-station to the cable interface near shore. In 2019, fabrication of the different components was initiated. In April 2020, the first foundation components were readied for transportation from the South Korean fabrication yards to the offshore windfarm area.

In June 2020, Jan De Nul Group installed the first pin piles and connected the first export cable to shore. And by early August, the Belgian offshore contractor installed and anchored the first jacket foundation to the seabed.