MHI Vestas secures footprint in Taiwan with waterside manufacturing facility

MHI Vestas has taken on significant acreage in Taichung Harbour as it ramps up preparations to deliver the world’s most ambitious offshore wind localisation plan in Taiwan.

MHI Vestas and developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have secured a 5000 square metre site located centrally in zone 1 of Taichung Harbour adjacent to the pre-assembly quayside of CIP’s Changfang & Xidao Offshore Wind Project, intended for assembly activities for some of the projects to be delivered in Taiwan using V174 technology. This site is being leased from Fortune Extra High Voltage Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fortune Electric Co., Ltd., and will be prepared for MHI Vestas’ operations.

For certain MHI Vestas projects, turbine hub assembly is expected to be carried out on the site, as well as final nacelle-related assembly and testing.

Hub assembly activities at Fortune’s site will involve some of the offshore wind components made locally in Taiwan, including hub plates from Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group (YGG) and spinner covers from the Atech / Fassmer (FACT) joint venture. YGG and FACT are among the many Taiwanese suppliers producing offshore wind turbine components as beneficiaries from MHI Vestas and CIP’s world-leading sustainable localisation plan, which has been approved by Taiwanese authorities.

“We are delighted to secure this centrally-located site from Fortune in Taichung Harbour,” said Maida Zahirovic, MHI Vestas Taiwan Business Director. “Sustainable localisation also requires sufficient sites for offshore wind project activities to be carried out safely. The Fortune site is a suitable location for some of the ground-breaking manufacturing work MHI Vestas is bringing to Taiwan. This will be a key central location for MHI Vestas’ activities in Taiwan and we are pleased to secure the space.”  

Changfang and Xidao (CFXD) wind farm Chief Executive Officer Dennis Sanou said: “The Changfang and Xidao Offshore Wind Project has found with MHI Vestas a reliable partner in making sure that we can produce and install offshore wind turbines with the highest percentage of turbine components fabricated in Taiwan. We are glad to see that, by signing of the Fortune lease agreement, MHI Vestas has taken another positive step in securing its Taiwanese supply chain.”

Pedro Hsu, Chairman of Fortune Electric Co., Ltd, said: “Through stringent assessment and selection process, we feel deeply honoured being selected by the Changfang and Xidao Project and MHI Vestas to serve as the industrial correlated cooperation partner for the localization of offshore windfarm. Under the instructions of the Changfang and Xidao Project and MHI Vestas, it is hoped that the expansion and renovation of the plant site will be completed according to the planned quality and schedule. In this way, we will be able to complete the assembly of the future nacelle smoothly in order to contribute our best efforts in promoting the green energy policy established by the government.

Through the cooperation, it is also hoped that we may follow Changfang and Xidao Project and MHI Vestas to promote international market outside Taiwan. By combining the advantageous export performance accomplished by Fortune, we may promote our electrical products and services to the international green energy generation market in the future.”

The Fortune site comes with space for assembly of turbines, warehouse and office space, along with additional capacity for storage of components. The building is also equipped with an overhead cranes and adequate land bearing capacity, to transport large offshore wind turbine components around the site.

This lease agreement comes in the wake of multiple supply chain contracts that have been signed by MHI Vestas in Taiwan to meet the demand from CIP’s Changfang & Xidao Offshore Wind Project, including for local supply of blades, transformer, blade materials (bonding glue, resin, pultruded carbon plates), towers, switchgear, rotor hubs, hub plates, nacelle base frames, low voltage cabinets, UPS systems, and PCM assembly.

At present, MHI Vestas is the only wind turbine manufacturer to procure blades, transformer, blade materials, switchgear, and cables from within Taiwan.