Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) has completed the construction of two offshore substations for Ørsted which will be deployed in Taiwan’s Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms.
The detailed engineering, procurement, and construction for the two unmanned offshore wind farm 600MW substations, which comprise the topside modules and jacket foundations, was completed with a perfect safety record.
The topside modules, which have a combined weight of more than 8000MT, are expected to sail away in late October 2021 to be integrated with the jacket foundations on site standing in the Taiwan Straits. Keppel O&M completed the construction of the jacket foundations earlier in Q2 2021 and will be undertaking the integration work for the offshore substations. When operational, the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a will be Taiwan’s first far shore and large-scale offshore wind farms.
Mr Chris Ong, CEO of Keppel O&M, said, “We are pleased to support Ørsted’s first full-scale offshore wind project in Asia with two major offshore substations. Working in close collaboration with Ørsted, we were able to devise win-win solutions to work around the constraints caused by the pandemic to ensure the safe completion of the project. This is the seventh major project completed by Keppel O&M this year and is testament to our engineering expertise, execution excellence and how we have adapted our operations to manage the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Offshore wind farm substation topside modules
“Keppel O&M’s pivot to renewables has gained traction, with S$1.3 billion worth of offshore wind projects secured over the past three years. We have the capabilities to develop solutions across the value chain of offshore renewables as well as undertake the R&D of other decarbonisation solutions such as hydrogen, ammonia, and electrification. This is in line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, which has put sustainability at the core of the Company’s strategy.”
After integration of the topside modules onto the jacket foundations, Keppel O&M will conduct testing of the substation systems within its scope.
Expected to withstand the sea and extreme weather conditions at the site, the offshore substations will distribute the energy generated from the offshore wind farm to the onshore substation via subsea cables.
Located 35-50 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County, the Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms will supply around 1 million households in Taiwan with green power. Taiwan recently announced plans[1] to install 15GW of new capacity in offshore wind for the ten-year period between 2026 and 2035.
Source: Keppel Corporation