Sing Da Marine Structure Corp (SDMS, 興達海洋基礎), a subsidiary of China Steel Corp (中鋼), in cooperation with Orsted A/S, yesterday unveiled a transition piece mockup for wind farm jacket foundations in Kaohsiung in a step closer to profitability for the two companies, which entered a multimillion-dollar supply contract in November last year.
“We aim to complete the first transition piece by December or January next year at the latest,” SDMS chairman Joseph Y.C. Wang (王亞洲) told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony.
“We plan to complete our first jacket foundation between May and July next year,” he said, adding that the company is investing up to NT$6.84 billion (US$218.8 million) to expand its facility at Kaohsiung’s Sing Da harbor by adding a new plant that would be ready in the first quarter next year.
Photo: Natasha Li, Taipei Times
“We are eyeing billions in revenue once we reach full production capacity by the end of 2021,” Wang said, adding that the firm would then produce an average of 48 to 50 jacket foundations per year, or about one a week.
SDMS is on a tight schedule as the company is set to provide Danish wind farm developer Orsted with 56 jacket foundations by 2021 for its first 900-megawatt project off the coast of Changhua County.
“Everything is going according to plan,” Orsted Changhua 1+2 Windfarm project cochief executive officer Frida Persson said.
Orsted is confident that the jacket foundations would be delivered on time after the Danish firm contracted 10 overseas experts to assist SDMS with production.
SDMS would be delivering its products in batches, Wang said, adding that “each would need to pass rigorous testing and quality control.”
Once the company has mastered the necessary techniques to meet international standards, it would be able to take advantage of business opportunities in the Asian-Pacific region, Wang said.
The company is eyeing opportunities in Japan’s developing offshore wind farm market, he said.
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