Siemens Gamesa has confirmed plans for a nacelle assembly plant in Taiwan that will be its first outside Europe.
The wind turbine OEM signed a lease with Taiwan International Ports Corporation for 30,000 square metres of land in the port of Taichung for the new factory and associated facilities, with production due to start in 2021.
The plant will support the 900MW Siemens Gamesa will supply to Orsted’s Greater Changhua 1 & 2a project – which will use the Spanish-German OEM’s 8MW turbines – “and future regional projects”, said the manufacturer, which has been in discussions over potential production facilities since early 2018.
Like other foreign groups operating in the emerging Taiwanese offshore wind sector, Siemens Gamesa will be subject to demanding local content requirements imposed by the government there.
Siemens Gamesa offshore wind CEO Andreas Nauen said: “Our strategic investment in Taichung harbor with this nacelle assembly facility continues as previously communicated. Doing so ahead of the local content requirement timeframe demonstrates our confidence in the long-term potential of offshore wind power for Taiwan and other APAC markets.”