First suction bucket jacket foundation installed on Taiwanese offshore windfarm

The milestone is the first use of a suction bucket jacket foundation in Taiwan and in the Asia Pacific region as a whole.

“This is Ørsted’s first use of suction bucket jacket foundations in the Asia Pacific region, and the region’s first large-scale offshore wind project to adopt this environmentally friendly, piling-free technology,” Ørsted said.

It said the use of the suction bucket jacket foundation minimises seabed disturbance, reduces noise levels during installation, and the foundation can be fully removed at the end of the windfarm’s life. It also has the potential to attract marine life.

The company also confirmed all 66 suction bucket jacket foundations for the project have now been manufactured and inspected, and the transport and installation phase for the remaining foundations for the 920-MW windfarm has commenced.

Ørsted commenced offshore construction of the Greater Changhua 2b and 4 offshore windfarms in February 2025. Located 35-60 km off the coast of Changhua County, Greater Changhua 2b and 4 were awarded in June 2018 as part of Taiwan’s first competitive price-based auction, which had no mandatory local content requirements.

In July 2020, Ørsted signed a 20-year fixed-price corporate power purchase agreement for a corporate customer to offtake the full production of the windfarms.

The 920-MW project will use 66 Siemens Gamesa 14-236 DD 14 MW wind turbines, the largest of their kind to be deployed in the Taiwan Strait.