Ground-breaking ceremonies for the construction of Wharf Nos. 37 and 38, which will serve as supporting infrastructure for Taiwan’s offshore wind sector, were held by representatives of the Port of Taichung (TIPC), as reported by OE.
Wind farm installations
Upon completion, the new infrastructure at Port of Taichung will have a combined length of 580 meters and a live load capacity of 40 metric tons per square meter. TIPC Chairman Hsien-yi Lee stated that his company began planning for crucial heavy lift wharves in 2015 and has reinforced several existing wharves, including 2, 5A, 5B, 36, 106, and 107, all of which are now being used by firms engaged in manufacturing and assembling wind turbine components since 2019. To support the achievement of important national offshore wind power targets, such as connecting wind farms to the national power grid by 2025 and maintaining progress in wind farm installations, TIPC has allocated NT$3.5 billion to construct two new heavy lift wharves at Port of Taichung for pre-assembling wind turbines.
Quick development of ports
The construction of Formosa 1 (128MW), Taipower 1 (109.2MW), and Hailong (376MW) offshore wind farms have been completed, while work on Chong Feng (640MW), Greater Changhua (900MW), and CFXD (600MW) is still ongoing. The Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to begin phase-three wind farm development after 2026, adding three new wind farms with a capacity of 500MW and 1.5GW of green energy to Taiwan’s national grid each year. After the completion of Wharf Nos. 37 and 38, the Port of Taichung will have three significant pre-assembly sites, centred around Wharves 5A, 5B, 36, 37, and 38, allowing for the creation of wind-farm-specific industry clusters and the streamlining of the transportation of turbine components and assemblies both on and offsite. Each pre-assembly site will independently support the specific needs of one offshore wind farm, based on the support infrastructure in place at that time.
Additionally, these locations will gain from the quick development of the port’s 47 hectares of existing windbreak forest, which will give each pre-assembly location access to 30 hectares of land for component storage.
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Source: OE