Ming Rong Yuan Business Co Ltd (銘榮元實業), which makes heavy construction equipment, at Kaohsiung Harbor yesterday unveiled its first pin pile for Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) phase 1 offshore wind farm project.
Measuring 66.5m in length and weighing about 250 tonnes, the pin pile, which is a base for a wind turbine, is the first of its kind made in Taiwan, Ming Rong Yuan said, adding that it closely followed European standards in the manufacturing process.
The company is to provide four pin piles by March to Taipower through the latter’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor, Luxembourg-based marine construction company Jan De Nul Group.
Jan De Nul and Hitachi Ltd of Japan in 2018 signed a NT$24.9 billion (US$831.11 million) deal with Taipower to develop the wind farm off Changhua County.
About two-thirds of the deal is for Jan De Nul and one-third for Hitachi.
The government has not yet set localization requirements for phase 1.
“We plan to launch the assembly of the turbines in June... The wind farm is scheduled to be completed by August,” a Taipower official surnamed Kao (高) told the Taipei Times by telephone, adding that a total of 21 turbines producing 5.2 megawatt (MW) each would be installed, which would require up to 84 pin piles.
The remaining 80 pin piles are reportedly to be provided by the South Korean unit of industrial distributor Edgen Murray Corp, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified.
With a capacity of 109.2MW, the wind farm is to be integrated into the nation’s electricity grid by the end of the year.
It is to generate up to 360 gigawatt-hours per year, supplying energy to more than 90,000 households, Taipower said.
Ming Rong Yuan has also set its sights on international markets and plans a maximum production capacity of 50 to 60 pin piles a year in the future, projecting sales of several billion New Taiwan dollars.
Last month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs approved a Ming Rong Yuan investment of NT$1.5 billion to build a factory in Pingtung’s Sinyuan Township (新園).
The company said the new plant would create more than 100 jobs.
This story has been modified since it was first published to avoid any inconvenience caused to Ming Rong Yuan.
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