Seajacks Goes Global with Siemens Gamesa Contract in Taiwan

Seajacks has won a contract from Siemens Gamesa to install 20 6MW turbines at the Formosa 1 Phase 2 offshore wind farm in Taiwan.

The award is the first time the Great Yarmouth-based company has won a renewables contract outside of Europe.

Seajacks Zaratan will site all 20 SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines in the Taiwan Strait, with the 10,000-tonne jack-up vessel scheduled to begin work in the second quarter of 2019.

“This exciting contract award announces the arrival of Seajacks as a global player in offshore wind farm installation and it builds on our years of experience in Europe,” said Seajacks Chairman, Soichi Inoue.

“It is also a very exciting time for Taiwan and we’re delighted to be playing a part in delivering the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. Zaratan has proven to be a tried and trusted platform for innovative projects like this in harsh environments.”

Seajacks will be installing the turbines for the Macquarie Capital, Ørsted and Swancor-owned project in around 30 metres of water, up to six kilometres off the coast of Miaoli County in north-west Taiwan.

The installation contract is subject to a final investment decision and financial close, both of which are expected later this year.

Siemens Gamesa Executive General Manager APAC Niels Steenberg said: “We welcome Seajacks bringing a suitable vessel to Taiwan as one of the first suppliers, relieving one of the bottlenecks for utility scale offshore wind in the region. We expect more to follow, now that the Taiwanese pipeline until 2024 is clear, creating a healthy and sustainable market.”

The Formosa 1 offshore wind farm will have a total capacity of 128MW once built and commissioned. Phase 1 of Formosa 1 features two Siemens 4MW demonstration turbines, the first ever wind turbines to be installed off Taiwan.