Taipower Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday announced that local energy firm Shinfox Corp (富崴能源) won the tender to develop the state-run utility’s phase 2 offshore wind farm in Changhua County for NT$62.89 billion (US$2.11 billion).
Prior to yesterday, Taipower had since May last year failed eight times in a row to attract bidders given local firms’ concerns over the high costs and risks associated with wind energy projects.
“This is within our maximum budget of NT$64 billion,” Taipower spokesman Hsu Tsao-hua (徐造華) said by telephone.
Shinfox is a renewable energy arm of Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co (正崴精密). Cheng Uei chairman Gou Tai-chiang (郭台強) is a younger brother of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘).
In charge of developing the 300 megawatt (MW) wind farm 14.7km from Changhua’s Lugang Township (鹿港), Shinfox, along with its subcontractor — Singapore-based Teras Offshore Pte — would conduct hydrographic surveys and geological drilling this year, Taipower said.
With the manufacturing of machine equipment and substations scheduled for 2022, Shinfox would first start working on the design of the wind farm next year, it said.
The wind farm is to be equipped with 8MW wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, with installation scheduled for 2024, Hsu said.
Set to be completed by the end of September 2025, it would generate up to 1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, supplying enough power for about 270,000 households, Taipower said.
Shinfox would be responsible for the maintenance of the wind farm during the first five years following its completion, Hsu said.
Meanwhile, Taipower’s phase 1 wind farm, with a capacity of 109.2MW, is scheduled to integrate into the nation’s electricity grid by the end of this year.
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