Jan De Nul Group has completed the installation of all 21 offshore wind turbines for the 109.2 MW Taiwan Power Company (TPC) ‘Offshore Windfarm Phase 1 Project – Demonstration’, including the installation of all subsea cables. The project teams of Jan De Nul and Hitachi now proceed with the termination and commissioning process of the complete offshore wind farm.

The project was kicked off in September 2018 with the preparatory onshore cable works. On 12 June 2021, Jan De Nul’s Offshore Jack-Up Installation Vessel Taillevent successfully completed the installation of the last 5.2 MW Hitachi wind turbine for TPC.

Jan Kop, Project Director TPC Project for Jan De Nul Group: “With this major milestone we have now reached the final stretch of the project which has challenged us in many ways, not even imaginable when we started more than three years ago. The COVID-19 restrictions and regulations implemented by authorities in Taiwan and around the globe have affected the project, but we have always continued with great commitment finalising the installation of the cables, jacket foundations and wind turbines. We thank our on and offshore teams for the great teamwork.”

Wind turbines with a downwind rotor

The TPC offshore wind farm near Fangyuan, 8 km off the west coast of Taiwan, is constructed in a region where typhoons are very common.

Each 5.2 MW wind turbine is installed on a jacket foundation with transition piece, anchored to the seabed using four steel pin piles, and equipped with wind turbines with a downwind rotor.

Consortium partner Hitachi pioneered this design by obtaining the Wind Turbine Class T certification, an international standard on wind-resistant design recognising the need in regions subject to frequent typhoons.

Construction of Taiwan’s first state-owned offshore wind farm

Jan De Nul kicked off the construction works in September 2018 with the preparatory onshore cable duct installation works to connect the existing onshore substation to the cable interface near shore.

Fabrication of the different foundation components was initiated in 2019. The first foundations left the South Korean fabrication yards in April 2020 to the offshore wind farm site in Taiwan.

In June 2020, Jan De Nul installed the first pin piles and connected the first export cable to shore. By early August of that same year, the very first jacket foundation was installed and anchored to the seabed. And on 15 September the first wind turbine was erected.

Consortium Jan De Nul-Hitachi

The ‘Offshore Windfarm Phase 1 Project – Demonstration’ was awarded to the consortium Jan De Nul-Hitachi in February 2018.

Jan De Nul Group 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 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.