Taiwanese Blade Facility Breaks Ground

Taiwanese Blade Facility Breaks Ground

MHI Vestas supplier Tien Li Offshore Wind Technology has started construction on a 210,000 square metre facility in Taichung Harbour to supply blades in Taiwan.

MHI Vestas
Taiwanese Blade Facility Breaks Ground
Source: MHI Vestas

Both production and storage facilities are being developed for the mass manufacture of blades to be installed at offshore projects in Taiwan and eventually, throughout Asia-Pacific, MHI Vestas said.

Along with the investment in the production and storage area, the infrastructure at the Taichung Harbour is being upgraded to handle the turning radius requirements for the transportation of completed blades.

“Tien Li’s facility in Taichung Harbour will be a sight to behold once completed, as it will be producing some of the largest blades in the world for installation offshore in Asia,” said Robert Borin, Chief Supply Chain Officer at MHI Vestas.

“The ground-breaking on this facility is a key milestone, and we look forward to working with Tien Li throughout this process as they ramp up to be a key supply chain partner to MHI Vestas in Asia-Pacific.”

When Tien Li completes the construction of its production footprint, MHI Vestas will be supporting the training of Tien Li employees in the manufacture of blades. Learnings from this training will enable Tien Li to sustainably produce MHI Vestas’ V174 platform for Taiwan and throughout Asia-Pacific, the wind turbine manufacturer said.

“Tien Li has invested TWD 3 billion to set up the first offshore wind blade manufacturing facility in the Asia-Pacific region, with the intention of developing Taiwan as the regional blade export base,” said Jay Hsu, General Manager of Tien Li.

”We require significant volume of orders to achieve return on our investment. Consistency and continuity of Taiwan’s localisation policy throughout 2026 toward blade manufacture is required, and will provide the industry with more confidence and ultimately, greater sustainable benefit to Taiwan’s economy.”

MHI Vestas has signed contracts in Taiwan for the local supply of blade materials, cables, tower production, and castings, with more local supply chain contracts planned for 2020, the company said.

The turbine manufacturer has been awarded firm contracts for the 589 MW Changfang and Xidao projects developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), as well as preferred supplier status for the 300 MW Zhong Neng project co-developed by CSC and CIP.