Xidao - Phase 1

Location

The Xidao wind farm is located in the Taiwan Strait, approximately 11 kilometers off the coast of Fangyuan Township, Changhua County, central Taiwan.

Project Developers and Owners

The Xidao wind farm is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through its managed funds, Copenhagen Infrastructure II (CI II) and Copenhagen Infrastructure III (CI III). Additional ownership includes a 25% stake held by Global Renewable Power Company (GRSC), a subsidiary of Global Power Synergy Public Company (GPSC), and minority stakes by Taiwan Life Insurance and TransGlobe Life Insurance.

Capacity and Turbines

• The Xidao Phase 1 involves the installation of 5 wind turbines.
• Each turbine is a Vestas V174-9.5 MW model, contributing to a total capacity of 47.5 MW for this phase.

Foundations and Installation

• The turbines will be mounted on three-legged jacket foundations, each installed on three piles driven into the seabed.
• The water depths at the installation site range from 26 meters to 46 meters.

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

• The electricity generated from the Xidao Phase 1 will be sold to Taiwan Power Company under a 20-year PPA at a rate of $0.204 per kWh.

Contractors and Suppliers

• Vestas Offshore Wind is responsible for supplying the turbines and will also perform operations and maintenance for 15 years.
• Chin Fong Machine Industrial and CS Wind are supplying the towers for the project.
• Century Wind Power and Bladt Industries are manufacturing the jacket foundations.
• Boskalis and Hwa Chi Construction are involved in the foundation installation, with marine construction works performed using Boskalis’ Bokalift 2 crane vessel.
• CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering is responsible for the transportation and installation of the turbine generators.

Infrastructure and Transmission

• The turbines are connected via a network of 66kV inter-array subsea cables.
• Power is transmitted from the offshore wind farms to the landfall at Lunwei District in Changbin Industrial Park through 66kV buried, subsea export cables.
• From the landfall, the electricity is transmitted to the onshore substation via 66kV buried, onshore export cables. The substation converts the transmission voltage levels from 66kV to 161kV, and then connects to the Taipower grid via 161kV export cables.

Construction and Operational Timeline

• The project construction began in the first quarter of 2021.
• The Xidao Phase 1 is part of a multi-phase development, with commercial operations for the entire Changfang and Xidao project expected to start in the first quarter of 2024.
• As of May 2024, the construction of the Changfang and Xidao wind farms has been completed, marking a significant milestone in Taiwan’s offshore wind development.

Economic and Environmental Impact

• The Changfang and Xidao project, including Xidao Phase 1, is expected to generate 5,300 jobs and TWD$9.2 billion ($302.6 million) in economic value for Taiwan.
• The project will contribute significantly to Taiwan’s energy transition and net-zero goals, generating enough renewable energy to power approximately 650,000 local households and reducing CO2 emissions by about 1.1 million tons annually.

Localization and Industry Impact

• The project has one of the highest degrees of localization in Taiwan’s offshore wind industry, utilizing local suppliers and vendors extensively.
• The completion of the Changfang and Xidao project, including Xidao Phase 1, represents a significant step in developing Taiwan’s offshore wind industry and supply chain.