Taiwan raises 2025 offshore wind target to 5.5GW

Taiwan now expects to have 5.5GW of total offshore wind capacity installed by 2025, up from the 3GW indicated in the previous energy policy.

The Bureau of Energy is looking to accelerate the development of the industry through a “mixed-tariff” strategy, as Shen Jong Chin, the island’s minister of economic affairs, announced the raised target during an industry event last week.

Project proposals will be evaluated and ranked by the Bureau of Energy under a scoring system. The best 3GW of projects which rank highest in the system will be guaranteed at a fixed feed-in tariff price of NT$6 ($0.198; €0.168) per kWh. The rest of the proposed projects will go through a competitive auction held by state-owned utility Taipower to sell electricity at a lower price for the additional 2.5GW quota.

The Taiwanese government is also working on a revision of the power regulations for renewable energy generation. Although the proposal remains an internal discussion in the energy bureau, it is seeking to allow renewable power generators to sell its output either directly to customers on a merchant basis or under a 20-year power-purchase agreement with Taipower.

Norwegian quality assurance and risk management company DNV GL signed a memorandum of understanding this week with Taiwan’s industry stakeholders to “collaborate on offshore wind testing and certification”. The company noted that “Taiwan is one of the rising offshore wind markets in the world. With its long-term visibility in terms of policy, financial support and development, Taiwan is Asia’s second biggest offshore wind market after China.”

“As a certification body, we have been involved in more than 75 percent of all offshore wind farms globally, giving us a comprehensive industry insight and knowledge based on experience from the world’s leading offshore wind markets,” said Kim Mørk, executive vice-president of renewables certification at DNV GL.

The company has already established a local certification team in Taipei, to support local and foreign companies’ development of the projects on site.

Currently, domestic and international developers in the market are aiming to pass the environmental assessments by the end of this year to receive approvals for the next steps of development. Australia’s Macquarie Capital is co-developing a pilot offshore wind project with Dong Energy and Swancor, while Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners set up a Taipei office this month with a 1.5GW offshore wind commitment.