LS Cable & System sends first offshore wind cables to Taiwan

South Korean cable manufacturer LS Cable & System has shipped off the first batch of submarine power cables for the Yunlin offshore wind farm in Taiwan.

This is also the company’s first shipment of submarine cables for an offshore wind project in Taiwan.

Last year, LS C&S won the right to supply all the high-voltage (HV) submarine cables for the 640 MW Yunlin wind farm.

This shipment, weighing 2,500 tons, is equivalent to a total length of 70 kilometres.

The cables, transported from the submarine cable plant in Donghae, Gangwon-do, to a ship in the nearby Donghae Port will be installed at the wind farm off the coast of Yunlin County in western Taiwan during this month.

Apart from the Yunlin project, LS C&S will also deliver the submarine cables for Ørsted’s 900 MW Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farm, and for the 376 MW Formosa 2 project.

The combined value of these three projects is around KR₩ 500 billion (around €367 million), LS C&S said.

From 2020 to 2035, the Taiwanese government is planning to construct a total of 15 GW of offshore wind capacity.

As the size of the remainder of the first and second projects is expected to exceed KR₩ 1 trillion over the next three years, LS C&S is concentrating on winning additional orders.

The Taiwanese government is trying to localize energy equipment and materials, but the submarine cables, which require long-term technology development and investments, were excluded from the localization targets, which means a green light for LS C&S to win additional orders, the company said.

“Taiwan is an advanced market that is converting to renewable energy ahead of others,” said President & CEO Roe-hyun Myung of LS C&S.

“We will capitalize on our success in Taiwan to expand our market presence to Australia, Vietnam and Japan where the offshore wind power generation markets are expected to grow rapidly.”