First power from Zhong Neng, a 300 MW offshore wind project off the coast of Changhua County in Taiwan, marks a significant step towards on-schedule completion of the project later in 2024.
The Zhong Neng offshore wind farm, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (“CIP”) through its fund Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (“CI IV”) and China Steel Corporation (“CSC”), has today achieved a significant milestone with the delivery of first power.
Zhong Neng received local content plan approval from the Taiwan government in November 2019 and is the only second wind farm in Taiwan’s offshore wind history to fulfill the highest localisation requirements. The first was the CIP-owned Changfang-Xidao offshore wind farm, which was recently inaugurated.
The first turbine on Zhong Neng was installed in May 2024 and a third of the wind turbines are now installed. Completion of all offshore installation work is expected in the third quarter of 2024 followed by full grid connection by year-end. Once fully operational, Zhong Neng will provide clean energy to approximately 300,000 households in Taiwan.
“We are very pleased to have reached this important project milestone in close collaboration with our partner, CSC. The successful delivery of first power demonstrates our joint project execution capabilities and I would like to thank all our partners and congratulate the Zhong Neng team for reaching this landmark,” said Mads Skovgaard Andersen, Partner at CIP. “Zhong Neng achieving first power and last month’s inauguration of Changfang-Xidao are both significant contributions to Taiwan’s energy transition.”
“The concerted efforts of shareholders CSC and CIP, the Zhong Neng team, and our supplier and contractor partners have ensured that all foundations were fabricated and installed – and that the electrical facility was successfully completed earlier this year. These achievements have paved the way towards successful turbine installation and power generation and offshore construction has progressed smoothly since the first turbine installation was announced in May,” Zhong Neng Chairman Wang Shyi-chin said. “We are committed to achieving full grid connection of the Zhong Neng project on schedule this year, which is not only our responsibility to our partners, but also our commitment to Taiwan’s energy transition.”
Since entering Taiwan in 2017, CIP has been committed to offshore wind in the country and has invested significantly in developing Taiwan’s offshore wind projects, supply networks and fostering a strong industry ecosystem. CIP and other partners currently have three offshore wind projects in Taiwan with a combined capacity of approximately 1,400 MW: Changfang-Xidao (600 MW), Zhongneng (300 MW), and Fengmiao (500 MW).
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) today is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind. The funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
CIP manages 12 funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 28 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from more than 160 international institutional investors. CIP has approximately 500 employees and 12 offices around the world. For more information, visit www.cip.com
