Siemens Gamesa broke ground today on a massive expansion of its successful offshore nacelle facility in Taichung, Taiwan. The ceremony marked the company’s long-term commitment to growing Taiwan as its offshore wind power hub for the entire fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.
The Siemens Gamesa offshore nacelle plant in Taichung is the largest production facility of its kind in Taiwan. The expansion will more than triple the plot area up to 90,000 square meters and more than triple the number of Siemens Gamesa people working locally. Among new elements, the expansion will broaden the production scope, creating two new production halls and a new warehouse on the extended plot.
Among the many distinguished Taiwanese guests at the groundbreaking ceremony were Shen Jong- chin, Vice Premier; Chih-Ching Yang, Deputy Director of Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs; Bruce J.D. Linghu, Deputy Mayor of Taichung City; Yan Li-Min, Deputy Speaker of the Taichung City Council; and Miau-Tang Chen, Vice President of Port of Taichung, Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd. Additional foreign representatives were also present.
“We are thrilled to triple our activities in Taichung and to be leading the Taiwanese offshore revolution. Having been present locally since our first offshore installation in 2016, followed by the opening of our Taipei office in 2017, we greatly appreciate the clear pipeline of projects and visibility of market plans which are available. This allows us as the world’s leading manufacturer of offshore wind turbines to make solid, long-term investments. Taiwan and Taichung Harbor especially have proven their mettle to meet our desire to make this location the centerpiece of our Asia-Pacific offshore manufacturing activities,” said Marc Becker, CEO of Siemens Gamesa’s offshore business.
In a continuous production flow, the new factory setup will have dedicated production lines for hub assembly, nacelle backend assembly, and final nacelle assembly including generator-related work. Assembly of SG 14-222 DD offshore turbine nacelles is planned to begin in the second quarter of calendar year 2024.
The large production depth opens up a compelling opportunity for a vast range of Taiwanese suppliers to feed more than 10,000 components directly to the factory. With a substantial annual production capacity, the factory is intended to deliver locally made nacelles for the 1,044 MW Hai Long offshore wind power projects, future projects from Taiwan’s Round 3 offshore wind power auctions, and other projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Since our Taichung offshore nacelle plant opened in Taiwan in 2021, Siemens Gamesa has proudly provided the first locally assembled nacelles. They stand tall in the Taiwan Strait and deliver clean power to the grid. With the factory expansion, we are looking forward to leveraging this local footprint together with the Taiwanese supply chain, building a regional offshore wind manufacturing powerhouse based in Taiwan,” said Niels Steenberg, General Manager of Siemens Gamesa Offshore for Asia-Pacific.
Beginning in October 2022, Siemens Gamesa will send its first batch of Taiwanese employees for training in Europe. The first 21 people, a combination of 15 hourly and six salaried colleagues, will spend 15 months in total abroad. More Taiwanese colleagues will follow as the new factory’s staffing needs grow. The Taiwanese colleagues will spend three months at Siemens Gamesa’s offshore wind turbine factory in Brande, Denmark, where they will learn about manufacturing processes for a variety of Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines. Next, they will spend all of calendar year 2023 receiving on-the-job training working alongside experienced nacelle assembly colleagues at the Siemens Gamesa offshore nacelle factory in Cuxhaven, Germany.
Construction work on the Taichung expansion started in September 2022. Construction of the first phase of the plant began in April 2020, with Taiwan’s first locally assembled offshore wind turbine nacelle being delivered in August 2021. These first machines were provided to Ørsted’s 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a project.
