CDWE signs Exclusivity Capacity Agreement with CSBC for pin piles for the Hai Long offshore wind farm

CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering (CDWE), Taiwan’s first offshore wind EPCI contractor, has signed an Exclusivity Capacity Agreement with the leading Taiwanese fabricator CSBC, for the provision of pin piles for the 300 MW Hai Long 2A offshore wind farm.

The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project partners (Canadian-based independent power producer Northland Power Inc., Yushan Energy Pte., Ltd. and Mitsui & Co., Ltd.) have recently been granted approval of their Industrial Relevant Plan (IRP), which is fully in line with the government’s local content requirements. The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project signed Taiwan’s first large-scale Balance of Plant, Preferred Supplier Agreement with CDWE in October 2019, signifying another major milestone in realising the localisation of Taiwan’s offshore wind industry.

Smart pin pile production line
As the number one shipbuilder in Taiwan, CSBC has a proven track record in manufacturing complicated steel constructions and coating solutions. In January 2020, CSBC launched its ‘smart pin pile production line’, which enables the company to efficiently fabricate the steel piles with precision accuracy.

The Hai Long wind farm is approximately 50 kilometres from the Taiwanese coastline and the depth of the foundations will be a maximum of 55 m. The foundations used by Hai Long are being specifically tailored to the characteristics of Taiwan’s seabed and wind farm conditions. CSBC’s expertise in steel fabrication will ensure that the pin piles meet the high standards and requirements needed for offshore wind farm construction.

Building Taiwan’s first floating DP3 heavy lift vessel
CDWE was established at the end of 2018 by CSBC and DEME Offshore. Hai Long is by far the biggest project in CDWE’s contracted portfolio. The joint venture company is currently building Taiwan’s first floating DP3 heavy lift vessel, the ‘Green Jade’. CDWE’s pioneering new vessel features an exceptional combination of high transport and load capacity, impressive lifting heights and green technology, which will enable CDWE and its customers to transport a multitude of the next generation, multi-megawatt turbines, jackets and components in a single shipment, making it extremely cost effective.

Being built at CSBC in Kaohsiung, ‘Green Jade’ has a 4,000-tonne crane capacity and will be capable of installing these mega monopiles and jackets at greater water depths, while her DP3 technology allows the vessel to continue operations under the most challenging conditions. CDWE is committed to providing all possible assistance to Taiwan’s growing offshore wind industry and to maximising local content. For example, ‘Green Jade’ will also sail under the Taiwanese flag and deploy Taiwanese nationals.

Felipe Montero, Project Director of Hai Long Offshore Wind, comments: “Right after the approval of our IRP, we’re delighted to start delivering on our localisation commitments with CDWE awarding this contract for the fabrication of the pin piles for Hai Long 2A to CSBC. We thank CDWE for having conducted a very thorough competitive process to select CSBC for this job and we are very happy to have CSBC onboard for this scope, in addition to its participation in Hai Long as part of CDWE, and also in the fabrication of the ‘Green Jade’. We’re confident that CSBC will do a great job fabricating pin piles for Hai Long, leveraging on the learnings from its first offshore wind projects and using Hai Long as a platform to be recognised internationally as a competent and competitive supplier of steel foundations for offshore wind.”

Hedwig Vanlishout, CEO of CDWE, says: “As the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) Contractor for the Hai Long offshore wind farm, we aimed to select the best qualified fabricator which is most beneficial for this complex and challenging project. At the same time, we are fulfilling our promise to the government concerning the development and optimisation of local content in Taiwan’s offshore wind industry, together with Hai Long. We are delighted to be partnering CSBC again and we’re confident that we can provide excellent, locally-fabricated pin piles to our client given CSBC’s impressive performance history and its new dedicated pin pile production line.”

Cheng Wen Lon, Chairman of CSBC, says, “We’re glad to work together with CDWE to facilitate the local content achievement for Hai Long offshore wind farm. With the close cooperation with CDWE in building ‘Green Jade’, it further reflects CSBC’s firm steps and milestones realised in Taiwan’s offshore wind industry. CSBC shoulders the task to fulfil the localisation policy in marine engineering and is confident that we will provide pin piles of excellent quality to Taiwan’s wind farms through our time-proven record and successful achievements.”