Chunghwa Telecom and Ericsson deliver the Asia-first private network service for Ørsted offshore wind farms
Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and Ericsson recently announced the delivery of private network services for Ørsted’s Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms. The service will provide Ørsted’s engineering teams with optimal communications speed and quality offshore. The project marks as Asia-first private network launched for offshore wind farms, and a significant milestone for private network applications in the renewable energy sector.
Located 35 to 60 kilometers from the shore, the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms are beyond the coverage of Taiwan’s main island mobile networks. Therefore, CHT and Ericsson have worked together to build Ørsted a mobile broadband network in the 900MHz and 1800MHz frequency bands to provide a high-quality communications environment for Ørsted teams out on the open sea. The private network is a crucial infrastructure during the construction and operations and maintenance (O&M) phases of offshore wind farms.
As part of its energy transition goals, Taiwan aims to increase renewable energy mix, aiming to installed 5.6 GW of offshore wind by 2025. Ørsted’s Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms, located off the coast of Changhua County, are the first large-scale far-shore wind farm in Taiwan. With an installed capacity of 900 MW, the wind farms will be able to provide clean energy to approximately one million Taiwanese households and contribute to Taiwan’s energy transition goals.
Christy Wang, General Manager of Ørsted Taiwan says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has made grave impacts on various industries worldwide. Ørsted is sparing no efforts to overcome the challenges and carrying on with constructing the offshore wind farms. After more than a year of close collaboration with CHT and Ericsson, we have activated Asia-first private network for the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farms, which spans a wide area of approximately 170 square kilometers. Given the size of the wind farms, it is important to have high-quality and stable communications services to ensure a safe work environment. We are pleased to work with CHT and Ericsson to launch the private network, providing our teams with stable, high-speed and good quality communication service to boost work safety and efficiency.”
Alex C.C Chien, President of Chunghwa Telecom Business Group says: “Private networks are the new Blue Sea in communications technology. Building a private network tailored to the client’s needs not only ensures exceptional communications service quality and data security, but also allows clients to enjoy customization and flexibility. Our collaboration with Ørsted and Ericsson opens a new chapter in our private network endeavors. We are honored to support the development of renewable energy in Taiwan as well as play our part in creating a sustainable environment through supplying premium mobile broadband networks.”
David Chou, President of Ericsson Taiwan says: “Sustainability has always been at the heart of Ericsson’s business strategy. It is our pleasure to collaborate with Ørsted and CHT to accelerate the application and development of communication technologies in Taiwan’s offshore wind farms. Our research shows that connectivity and digitalization will be key to initiatives combating climate change and building a low-carbon future. We look forward to leveraging advanced communication technologies, such as 5G, to support the renewable energy sector to effectively collect related data for them to optimize energy production and efficiency, working together to achieve Net-Zero emissions and sustainable economy.”