MHI Vestas signs Taiwanese transformer deal

MHI Vestas has signed a deal to buy transformer technology within Taiwan, becoming the first turbine manufacturer to do so.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids will supply transformers with key components from the Shihlin Electric and Engineering Corporation’s facility in Hsinchu county, in the north-west of the country.

The transformer technology will convert electricity to a higher 66kV voltage for long-range transmission to shore.

It will be used at the 446.5MW Changfang Phase 2 Changfang Phase 2 (446.5MW) Offshoreoff Changhua, Taiwan, Asia-Pacific Click to see full details, 47.5MW Xidao Xidao (47.5MW) Offshoreoff Changhua, Taiwan, Asia-Pacific Click to see full details and 300MW Zhongneng I Zhongneng I (300MW) Offshoreoff Changhua, Taiwan, Asia-Pacific Click to see full details wind farms, for which MHI Vestas is due to supply turbines.

The projects have a combined capacity of just under 1.3GW, with commissioning dates scheduled between 2023 and 2024.

MHI Vestas’ business director in Taiwan, Maida Zahirovic, explained: “High-voltage transformers are vital for ensuring that maximum electricity output reaches end consumers.”

The first deliveries of the transformers will be made in 2022 for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) Changfang and Xidao projects, which are due online the following year.

MHI Vestas has previously signed deals for the local supply of blades and blade materials – including bonding glue, resin, pultruded carbon plates – towers, switchgear, rotor hubs, hub plates, nacelle base frames, low-voltage cabinets, UPS systems and PCM assembly in Taiwan.