Crane ship at dusk installing wind turbine jacket in the sea

Hai Long offshore wind project, Taiwan

A landmark in Taiwan’s renewable energy transition

The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project marks a significant step in Taiwan’s transition to clean energy, delivering over 1 GW of renewable power to more than a million households. By diversifying the energy mix and increasing the share of renewables, the project advances the nation’s net-zero goals. AFRY has been instrumental in guiding the project from auction to execution, providing expert support in offshore wind development to ensure its success.

As one of the largest offshore wind developments in Taiwan, the Hai Long wind farm will generate approximately 4,500 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually, sufficient to power over a million households. Located 45 to 70 km off the Changhua coast, this project strengthens Taiwan’s energy security and accelerates the shift to a low-carbon future.

Navigating a challenging and complex landscape

The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project is a joint venture formed by Mitsui, a renowned Japanese conglomerate with global energy and infrastructure expertise, Northland Power, a Canadian leader in renewable energy, and Gentari, a clean energy developer founded by Malaysia’s PETRONAS. Together, these equity partners conceived the project as a strategic investment to strengthen their foothold in offshore wind energy. However, navigating Taiwan’s regulatory, environmental, and technical challenges required a robust approach. Key obstacles included:

Strict local content requirements, necessitating meticulous supply chain coordination
Taiwan’s limited experience with large-scale offshore wind projects
Technically demanding conditions, including deep waters, seismic activity, and typhoons
Global market disruptions, such as COVID-19 and rising costs.

Despite these hurdles, the Hai Long project has become a flagship example of Taiwan’s market-driven renewable energy model, combining government-backed feed-in tariffs and corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs). This innovative financing structure sets a benchmark for future offshore wind projects in the region.

Ship's crane loading jacket piles from dock

Unlocking Hai Long project success with AFRY’s Offshore Wind expertise

AFRY has been integral to the Hai Long project, providing expert guidance from the auction phase in 2018 through financial close and execution, ensuring a seamless transition from development to construction. AFRY has provided advice throughout all phases of the project, supporting its progress until the expected start of commercial operations at the end of 2026.

AFRY’s offshore wind expertise was crucial in:

Strategic bid support, pulling together the input from the different workstreams and compiling these into decision documents for the project board
Package management, defining and executing the contracting strategy for the balance of plant scope (foundations, cables, and offshore works), ensuring an integrated execution plan
Project interface management, aligning technical, commercial, and regulatory requirements
Jacket pile gripper scope management, from contracting through execution.

With a structured project management approach, AFRY proactively mitigated risks, optimised delivery schedules, and helped navigate local content requirements. Our effective coordination of stakeholders ensured smooth project execution, avoiding bottlenecks and enhancing efficiency.

AFRY’s proactive risk management and problem-solving approach were vital in addressing:

Taiwan’s regulatory landscape, ensuring compliance without compromising efficiency
Global market volatility, managing cost pressures and material availability
Offshore technical challenges, ensuring successful integration of components in deep waters.

As a result, Hai Long remains on track to deliver 1,022 MW of clean energy, positioning Taiwan as a leader in offshore wind development in the region.

AFRY has been a valued partner in the Hai Long Offshore Wind Project, supporting us through every phase with their expertise and dedication. Their proactive approach and deep understanding of the offshore wind industry have contributed to the project's success, from development through to construction.

– Tom Metcalfe, FOU T&I Manager at Hai Long Offshore Wind

A lasting contribution to Taiwan's energy future

The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project is set to make a significant impact on Taiwan's energy landscape and environmental sustainability. Once completed, it will supply clean energy to over a million households and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 2.2 million tons per year, significantly contributing to Taiwan's goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

At AFRY, we are committed to accelerating the transition to a net-zero future.

"The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project embodies our core values – sustainability, innovation, and collaboration – by delivering clean energy at scale."

– Timo Staal, Taiwan Branch Manager

Beyond environmental benefits, the project is expected to create over 5,000 jobs throughout its lifecycle, boosting local economies and supporting the development of a skilled workforce in the renewable energy sector.

By supporting one of Taiwan’s most significant renewable energy projects, we have:

strengthened Taiwan’s energy security facilitating the energy transition
facilitated knowledge transfer and capacity building within local industries
enabled sustainable infrastructure development, ensuring offshore wind remains a cornerstone of Taiwan’s energy strategy.