The Hai Long offshore wind project in Taiwan has announced the first wind turbine installation at the Hai Long 3 wind farm, moving the development into a critical phase of construction.

Located 45–70km off the Changhua coast at water depths of 35–55m, the project is being jointly developed by Mitsui & Co., Northland Power and Gentari International Renewables.

The Hai Long project has a planned total installed capacity of more than 1GW.

Siemens Gamesa’s Taichung facility assembled the nacelle for the turbine, which was then installed offshore by Taiwanese marine engineering contractor CDWE.

A total of 73 locally produced nacelles have now been assembled and are being transported for installation at the site.

Siemens Gamesa expanded its Nacelle 2.0 factory in response to the requirements of Hai Long, with nine Taiwanese suppliers achieving certification for its global supply chain.

The project employs Siemens Gamesa’s SG 14-222 wind turbine model with Power Boost technology, capable of delivering up to 15MW per unit.

Local companies are contributing key components including bed frames, cables, canopies, fasteners, hub castings, spinners, towers and transformers.

Hai Long Project CEO and project director Tim Kittelhake said: “The successful installation of the first turbine at Hai Long 3 wind farm demonstrates the synergy between our project team and local contractors as we move steadily toward full grid connection.”

Recent construction milestones include the completion and grid connection of all turbines at Hai Long 2A and installation of all units at Hai Long 2B, prior to work commencing on Hai Long 3.

The project developers state that local assembly during construction will be matched by ongoing local operations and maintenance activities once commercial operation begins.