Successful Completion of the Foundation Installation at the 640 MW Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm Project in Taiwan

  • All 80 foundations, including monopiles and transition pieces, successfully installed
  • Final installation phase has begun
  • Leading in localization and environmental responsibility

HAMBURG, GERMANY – EQS Newswire – 23 August 2024 – Yunneng Wind Power Co., Ltd. (Yunneng), the company responsible for the construction and operation of the 640 MW Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm project (Yunlin OWF) project in Taiwan, has achieved another major milestone by successfully completing the installation of all 80 foundations, which includes both the monopiles and transition pieces. The project team continues to collaborate closely with all partners to ensure the steady construction progress and remains on track for a full completion of the Yunlin OWF by the end of 2024. With 80 foundations and 68 wind turbine generators (WTG) installed, including 52 WTGs already feeding clean electricity into the grid, the Yunlin OWF is progressing rapidly. Additionally, 56 out of the 69 inner array grids and all 12 export cables are now in place. These significant milestones mark the commencement of the project’s final installation phase.

640 MW Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm

“Completing the foundation installation marks a crucial step towards finishing the Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm project,” stated Patrick Lammers, CEO of Skyborn Renewables. “This accomplishment is a testament to the hard work of our team and the collaborative spirit with our partners. We thank the Taiwanese government for their ongoing support. With the significant construction progress, successful financial restructuring, localization advancements, and a clear commitment to environmental responsibility, we demonstrate our commitment to Taiwan’s clean energy transition.”

The Yunlin OWF is the first offshore wind project to voluntarily exceed localization commitments and do more than required. As part of the key localization initiatives including 40 monopiles and 40 transition pieces, the project team has partnered with Taiwan’s leading manufacturers, Formosa Heavy Industries and CTCI Machinery. Moreover, Yunlin OWF has set several records, including the first successful localization of foundations, inclusive of transcontinental technical collaboration, whereby the project team has optimized the production process and reduced the manufacturing time for transition pieces to just five days. Also, the Yunlin OWF was the first project to commit to long-term charter locally build Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs).

Yunlin OWF is equally committed to environmental responsibility. Since 2021 Yunneng, with the support of Skyborn Renewables Taiwan (Skyborn Taiwan), has continuously implemented a four-year “Black-faced Spoonbill Tracking Program,” the endangered species (EN) in Asia Pacific. By utilizing advanced GPS technology, this initiative has yielded crucial data on the habitat and migration patterns. To date, the program has identified 10 new activity hotspots and recorded over 100 flight paths, creating “the world’s most comprehensive database” of first-hand flight trajectory data for Black-faced Spoonbills. This notable achievement earned Yunneng a Bronze Award in both the prestigious Asia-Pacific Sustainability Action Awards (APSAA) and the Taiwan Sustainable Action Award (TSAA) in the ‘Life on Land’ category.

The Yunlin OWF is located in the Taiwan Strait, between 8 and 17 km off the west coast of Taiwan, at water depths from 7 up to 35 m. The 82 km² project area will comprise 80 wind turbine generators, whose generated electricity will be fed into the Taiwanese power grid via two onshore substations near the townships of Taixi and Sihu in Yunlin County. Electricity from the project is provided to Taiwan Power Co. under two 20-year power purchase agreements. The project is backed by a strong financial consortium established in 2019, including Taiwanese and international banks alongside export credit agencies. Once completed, the 640 MW Yunlin OWF will be Taiwan’s second-largest offshore wind farm and produce enough clean energy to serve the energy needs of more than 600,000 Taiwanese households.

Shareholders of Yunneng Wind Power Co., Ltd.

Skyborn Renewables (Skyborn)

Skyborn is an accomplished offshore wind developer and operator with more than 20 years’ experience, headquartered in Germany. The company’s capabilities cover the entire offshore wind value chain, including greenfield development, project engineering and design, procurement, financing, corporate power purchase agreements, construction management and asset management. Skyborn is a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a leading infrastructure investor headquartered in New York, USA. For more information, visit www.skybornrenewables.com

TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to provide as many people as possible with energy that is more reliable, more affordable and more sustainable. Active in about 120 countries, TotalEnergies places sustainability at the heart of its strategy, its projects and its operation.

As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a world class cost-competitive portfolio combining renewables (solar, onshore and offshore wind) and flexible assets (CCGT, storage) to deliver clean firm power to its customers. At the end of 2023, TotalEnergies’ gross renewable electricity generation installed capacity is 22 GW. TotalEnergies will continue to expand this business to reach 35 GW in 2025 and more than 100 TWh of net electricity production by 2030.

Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO Group)

EGCO Group is the first Independent Power Producer in Thailand. EGCO Group presently has a total equity capacity of 7,003 MWe in operation and under construction. Total equity capacity from renewable energy is 1,447 MWe (equivalent to 21% of the total portfolio). The RE portfolio includes biomass, hydropower, solar power, onshore and offshore wind power, fuel cells, and battery storage. EGCO Group’s facilities are located in 8 countries, namely Thailand, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan and USA. In addition, EGCO Group has also 11 other energy-related businesses including the fuel and infrastructure business group and the customer solution and startup business group. EGCO Group has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for four consecutive years (2020-2023) and aims to achieve Net Zero goal by 2050. Learn more about EGCO Group through our website at www.egco.com

Sojitz Corporation (Sojitz)

Sojitz is a major investment and trading firm in Japan developing wide range of businesses globally, including manufacturing, selling, importing, and exporting a variety of products, in addition to providing services and investing in approximately 50 countries around the world through approximately 440 consolidated subsidiaries and affiliated companies located in Japan and overseas. Sojitz was formed out the union of Nichimen and Nissho Iwai Corp. both with long world-wide investment histories of more than 160 years, Sojitz is a publicly listed company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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About Skyborn Renewables

Skyborn is an accomplished offshore wind developer and operator with more than 20 years’ experience, headquartered in Germany. Our capabilities cover the entire offshore wind value chain, including greenfield development, engineering and design, procurement, financing, commercialization / corporate power purchase agreements, construction management, as well as operations and asset management. Skyborn is a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a world-leading independent global infrastructure investor with headquarters in New York, USA.

For more information, visit www.skybornrenewables.com