The Zhong Neng offshore wind farm in Taiwan, jointly developed by Taiwan-based China Steel Corporation (CSC) and Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), has produced first power.
A third of the project’s wind turbines are now in place, CIP said in a press release on 26 June.
Offshore installation work is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2024 and the 295 MW offshore wind farm is planned to be fully commissioned by the end of this year.
The first of the 31 Vestas V174-9.5 MW wind turbines that will spin at Zhong Neng was installed in May 2024.
According to CIP, the Zhong Neng project, which received local content plan approval from the Taiwan government in November 2019, is only the second offshore wind farm in Taiwan “to fulfill the highest localisation requirements”, the first being the Changfang-Xidao offshore wind farm, also owned by CIP.
CIP’s 600 MW Chanfang-Xidao offshore wind farm was completed and inaugurated in May.
Once fully operational, the 295 MW Zhong Neng, located some 13 kilometres off Changhua County, will provide clean energy to approximately 300,000 households in Taiwan.
CIP and its partners currently have three offshore wind projects in Taiwan with a combined capacity of approximately 1,400 MW: the 600 MW Changfang-Xidao, the 295 MW Zhong Neng, and the 500 MW Fengmiao which is set to enter construction in 2025.