WIND FARM UPDATE

Formosa 1

In June Siemens signed a Turbine Supply Agreement with Formosa Wind Power Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Swancor Enterprise and the developer of what could be Taiwan’s first offshore wind farm, the 128MW Formosa 1 offshore wind demonstration project. Formosa 1 is located 3 to 6km off Miaoli county, in north-west Taiwan, in water depths between 15 to 30m.

Under the agreement Siemens will deliver 2 of their 4MW turbines for the first phase of the project. The turbines are expected to be installed in 2016. A second, 100MW phase is planned to start construction in 2018 with the full project becoming operational between 2019 and 2020.

Formosa 1 is one of 3 projects to receive government support through the Grand Scheme which was released in 2012. Danish K2 Management is acting as general consultant on the project.

Fukushima FORWARD

Progress is being made in the 2nd phase of the Fukushima Experimental Offshore Floating Wind Farm Project. The project consists of 2 floating turbines, a 7MW oil pressure drive-type wind test turbine by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry on a three-column semi-sub floater, and a Hitachi 5MW downwind-type turbine. It follows the first phase in which a 2MW floating turbine was installed in November 2013.

The main preceding works such as the installation of chains, anchors and undersea cables for the 7MW floating turbine at the test area, around 23km off Fukushima coast, has been successfully completed. Assembly of the turbine installation has also been completed. The transportation of the turbine installation from the Onahama port and mooring on site is planned for July, followed by the laying and burying of the raiser cable in August. As of mid September the electrical work and commissioning of the 7MW floating turbine is planned to take place with full operation expected by mid December. The 7MW turbine has 80m blades and a rotor height of 105m.

The installation of chains and anchors for the 5MW floating turbine at the test area are planned to have started when this edition is out. At the same time the turbine is being constructed.

The project is being developed by a consortium comprised of Marubeni, the University of Tokyo, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan Marine United, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, Hitachi, Furukawa Electric, Shimizu, and Mizuho Information & Research. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Horns Reu 3

Vattenfall Wind Power has selected MHI Vestas Offshore Wind as preferred turbine supplier for its 400MW Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm for which it won the concession to build and operate earlier this year. MHI Vestas will supply their V164-8.0 MW turbine.

Geotechnical investigations on site, around 20km off the Danish west coast, and the procurement of foundations and cables will soon start. According to the developer the project is currently still on schedule to become operational by 1 January 2020. Vattenfall also owns 60% of the Horns Rev 1 project.

Borssele

At the start of June the go ahead was given for the Leeghwater demonstration project in a dedicated area in the 1,400MW Borssele offshore wind farm zone, located off the coast of Zeeland. The project, aimed at bringing down the cost of offshore wind energy and stimulate competition by innovation, offers companies the possibility to demonstrate and test their innovative technologies in viability and bankability, in a prepared setting. The area offers room for two multi megawatt turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 200m. The project is co-located to a wind farm. It is physically, contractually and in terms of risk independent but it can benefit from various facilities of the nearby wind farm.

In 2016/2017 a tender will be announced by the top consortia for knowledge and innovation, TKI Wind op Zee. The winner will be the concept with the highest combinations in technological innovations. The demonstration project is planned to be operational by 2020. Once in operation the generated power will be fed into the national grid, contributing to the national offshore wind target.

In the meantime more information is gathered in preparation for the tenders for the Borssele wind farm zone. On 11 June Fugro deployed a measuring Lidar buoy to measure the wind and sea conditions which are needed to calculate as accurately as possible the expected energy yield from the wind farms that are planned in this wind farm zone. In addition, the buoy will also collect wave heights and sea currents data. Fugro was awarded the contract by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency in May. The company also won a contract for geophysical investigations of the seabed.

The tender for the I and II phases are planned for December. The tender for phases III and IV will begin in 2016.