Changhua foundation fabrication making good progress

A consortium of Jan De Nul and Hitachi signed a contract for the Changhua project in April 2018. The project will use 21 jacket-type foundations each 60 m high, weighing more than 1,100 tonnes each. They are being manufactured at Samkang Construction in South Korea.

Fabrication started mid-2019 and the first jacket will be completed by the second half of April, meeting the construction schedule.

The jackets include the transition piece for the 5.2-MW turbines that will be used on the project.

Each jacket will be attached to the seabed by four pin piles. The pin piles are being manufactured at a South Korean fabrication yard managed by Scottish company Edgen Murray. First load-out is planned in mid-April.

A number of pin piles have also been manufactured in Taiwan by the steel fabricator Ming Rong Yuan Business Co Ltd. These pin piles are the first foundation components for the offshore windfarms in the country to be manufactured in Taiwan.

The jackets will be transported in five batches from South Korea to Taiwan using a heavy transport vessel which will dock at Taichung Port.

Under the terms of the contract awarded to Jan De Nul and Hitachi, Jan De Nul is responsible for the design, fabrication and installation of the foundations, installation of the wind turbines, supply and installation of the offshore and onshore cables and for upgrading the electrical substation.

Hitachi is responsible for manufacturing, assembly and other works related to the downwind wind turbines selected for the offshore windfarm.

The foundations and wind turbines are designed to withstand cyclones and the potential effects of earthquakes.

The Jan De Nul-Hitachi consortium is also responsible for operations and maintenance on the Changhua offshore windfarm for an initial period of five years.