Global offshore wind leader Ørsted today signed a multi-million USD contract with Sing Da Marine Structure Corporation (SDMS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Steel Corporation (CSC). During 2020 and 2021 SDMS will supply 56 jacket foundations for Ørsted’s first 900MW Greater Changhua projects to be installed in 2021. This is Ørsted’s largest jacket foundation contract ever. With respect to delivery in 2020 and 2021, it is also the largest of its kind in the global offshore wind industry and demonstrates Ørsted’s strong commitment to develop Taiwan’s offshore wind supply chain.

SDMS will extend their facilities in Sing Da Harbour in Kaohsiung and have the new factory operational in the first quarter of 2020. The contract will not only give SDMS a strong pipeline, but also allow it to gain world-class knowledge and experience through working with Ørsted. The Ørsted foundation team has spent more than 18 moths to develop this partnership with CSC and SDMS and is dedicated to transferring knowledge to develop a local Taiwanese supplier for a technology area which is innovative and critical for the success of the Taiwanese offshore wind plans.

Matthias Bausenwein, Ørsted’s President for Asia Pacific, said: “Foundations are an essential part of building offshore wind power plants in Taiwan, not least due to the extraordinary demanding site conditions in the Taiwan strait. For our Greater Changhua projects, we will have to use Jacket foundations, weighing over 1,100 ton and reaching a height of approximately 75 meters. Such large structures will require outstanding fabrication performance as well as excellence in the execution phase during installation. We are very pleased to have found a strong partner who is capable of developing such skills and we look forward to executing our projects, jointly with SDMS, in a brand-new fabrication plant especially designed for manufacturing jacket foundations. Today’s contract is just a beginning of our long-term partnership since SDMS is considered as one of the preferred suppliers for our future projects which will be built in 2025”

Listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange, CSC is the largest integrated steel maker and also the leader of the national Wind team which is an alliance set up for Taiwanese suppliers to develop offshore wind business opportunities under the support of the government. Ørsted’s contract with SDMS will allow many Wind Team suppliers to join the jacket foundation sub-supply chain.

Matthias Bausenwein added, “The contract decision was made on the consideration that the two companies both have solid financial strengths, share the same business principles, and have the same dedication in developing a fully integrated local supply chain.”

The contract signed today is subject to certain conditions such as the signing of a power purchase agreement by the end 2018 and Ørsted’s final investment decision, which is expected in March 2019.