Offshore installation contractors Semco Maritime and PTSC M&C have signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the gigawatt-scale Hai Long wind project being developed by a Northland Power-led consortium off the Taiwanese coast, they said Wednesday.
Under the deal, the value of which was not disclosed, the duo will build and install two substations for Hai Long 2 and 3 projects, located some 50 kilometres offshore in the Taiwan Strait.
The substations’ jackets will be assembled at PTSC M&C’s yard in Vungtau City, Vietnam.
The Semco-PTSC M&C consortium was selected as a preferred supplier late last year.
“This project marks an important milestone as well as a strategic breakthrough for PTSC M&C in renewable energy services,” said Dong Xuan Thang, managing director at PTSC M&C.
Hai Long, being developed by Canada’s Northland with Taiwan’s Yushan Energy Pte. Ltd. and Japan’s Mitsui, has a total nameplate capacity of 1,044 megawatts. Plans are to build the wind farm in 2024, with commissioning to follow two years later.
The announcement follows another deal, signed earlier this month, between PTSC M&C and Danish wind power company Orsted to jointly work on a series of offshore wind projects in Vietnam.
Taiwan is seen by developers as a major play in the emerging Asian offshore wind market, with the first 3 GW of its highly anticipated 9 GW third leasing tender set for next month, and Tapei angling to have close to 15 GW turning by 2035.
But issues linked to the government’s auction design and local supply chain pinch points have raised concern among industry leaders as to the likely impacts on the still nascent sector.
The region also faces increased tension after Chinese military exercises that followed the recent visit to the island by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
