Ørsted has awarded its Taiwanese partner Woen Jinn Harbour Engineering (WJ) with a contract for the inter-array cable installation at the Greater Changhua offshore wind projects.
Besides the cable installation, the NT$ 1 billion (approximately EUR 28 million) contract includes a special financial arrangement which allows WJ to invest in the new-build cable laying vessel WoenJinn#7.
Ørsted has set up a team of five full-time and five part-time specialists to work and exchange knowledge with WJ in developing the required standards and competencies for the projects.
The two parties have been collaborating the past two years during which the Danish company worked with WJ on becoming the only qualified offshore cable installation supplier in Taiwan. WJ has so far hired an additional 20 persons and is planning further staff recruitment to help deliver the contract.
“ D eveloping a local supplier in Taiwan requires significant resources and efforts from all aspects, such as commercial, technical, QHSE standards, and even financial support. Ørsted Taiwan feels proud to partner with WJ and has gone extra miles in taking the collaboration to the next level,” said Matthias Bausenwein , Ørsted’s General Manager for Asia Pacific.
“We believe that this collaboration will not only bring more opportunities to Woen-Jinn in Taiwan, but it will also support our partner to become a competitive offshore wind cable installation supplier in Asia. We look forward to supporting more Taiwanese companies to develop competence and capability in offshore wind. “
The Taiwanese company said it will promote local talent, as well as strengthen the development of local industry chain, and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology to attract and train young talent for the offshore wind sector.
WJ is currently also negotiating on academic collaboration with National Taiwan Ocean University and National Cheng Kung University and plans to provide full scholarships to students interested in marine engineering and internship opportunities from 2022 onwards.
Ørsted signed a MoU with Woen-Jinn in November 2017 choosing the Taiwanese company as the preferred offshore cable installation partner for the Greater Changhua offshore wind projects.
The projects include four sites located 35 to 60km off the Changhua coast, with the total capacity expected to be 2.4GW.