Heavy lift specialist ALE has formed a joint venture with Giant Taiwan for the onshore handling, transportation and storage of wind turbine foundations for Phase 2 of Taiwan’s Formosa 1 Wind Farm.

The second phase of this project raises the power generation capability of the offshore wind farm, which is located  6km off Miaoli County in the Taiwan Strait, from its current 8 MW to 120 MW.

ALE – Giant, as the JV is called, was established to oversee the transport of the foundations and develop new storage facilities. The company says it had to overcome a number of major logistical, engineering and civil infrastructure challenges required for installation work to even begin. Key phases of this project included the transportation and load-out of monopiles from their point of fabrication in Rostock, Germany, the development of earthquake-resilient storage facilities at the Port of Taichung, Taiwan, and the load-in of both monopiles and transition pieces there.

“By establishing ALE – Giant we have fast-tracked our localization and have been able to offer ALE’s world-class services, safety and quality standards while being seen as a local partner from day one,” commented Chris Schraa, director of ALE Taiwan.

“This is truly a winning combination in which ALE brings its knowledge built up in the offshore wind industry in Europe and Giant complements it with valuable local connections and expertise,” added Global Strategic Sales director Yannick Sel.

Jan de Nul has just finished the installation of the 20 new foundations, mobilising the installation vessel Seaway Yudin. Seajacks is currently in the process of installing the turbines.

According to schedule, the project should be completely finished in 8 months time. Formosa 1 will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in Taiwan before 2020. It is owned by Formosa I Wind Power, which is a joint venture of Ørsted (35%), JERA (32.5%), Macquarie Capital (25%) and Swancor Holding (7.5%).