Taiwanese-Belgian engineering joint venture CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering Co. Ltd. made a supersized commitment to Taiwan's burgeoning offshore wind market on April 30, starting construction on a large new wind turbine installation vessel.

The vessel, named Green Jade, will be the first floating heavy-lift installation ship to be built in Taiwan, according to Belgium's DEME Group, which established CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering, or CDWE, alongside Taiwanese ship builder CSBC Corp. Taiwan ESOP in February 2019.

Green Jade will have a powerful 4,000-tonne capacity crane, able to install the largest available turbines and foundations, DEME said. DEME did not comment on the maximum turbine size the vessel is designed for.

As machines evolve with increasing demand for efficiency from developers, the large-scale installation vessel segment is being put under increasing pressure to keep up with demands.

The first critical components for the new Taiwanese ship have been ordered, and the ship is set to be ready for use by 2023. Taiwan's localization requirements for the offshore wind sector stipulated that the ship is to be built there, a DEME spokesperson said in an email. The spokesperson did not comment on the value of the investment.

The CDWE joint venture has signed a preferred supplier agreement with the Taiwanese Hai Long wind project, run by Northland Power Inc., Yushan Energy PTE Ltd and Mitsui & Co. Ltd., and will also transport and install foundations at the 300-MW Zhong Neng wind farm being developed by Zhong Nengh Wind Power Corp.

The announcement follows a plan by Denmark's Ørsted A/S to build a new servicing vessel for its Taiwanese wind farms, communicated earlier this month.