The Bureau of Energy, MOEA, is expected to announce the rules and site proposals for the third phase of offshore wind power that is block development at the end of March, and the Taiwan Offshore Wind Industry Association has proposed three major recommendations regarding the new rules, including the provision of a robust investment environment, the incorporation of the selection experience into the development and stipulation of flexible policy, as well as the encouragement on new technology and investment on innovative technology such as floating offshore wind power.
Formed by 8 Taiwanese offshore wind power suppliers, the Taiwan Offshore Wind Industry Association (TOWIA) has hosted a press conference of the inaugural meeting on March 10th, and is looking forward to providing recommendations related to offshore wind power, as well as establishing a communication platform between the industry, government, and academia.
Apart from the localization ratio that has yet to be agreed on, another major dispute of the third phase lies on the definition on the “red light zone” that prohibits development and the controversial “yellow light zone”. Hsu Nai-wen, President of TOWIA and Managing Director for CIP, commented that TOWIA is an excellent platform that enhances on the opportunities for communication between the industry, government, and academia.
In terms of the three recommendations, Tseng Wen-sheng, Deputy Minister of the MOEA, pointed out that the schedule for offshore wind power has been postponed from the initially planned 2025 to the 10GW target in 2035, and the relevant discussion on infrastructures with ports companies is based on a long-term development of 20 years, where the updates and cooperation in wind farms after 20 years would require planning and preparation, before sequential investment in renewable energy happens, while the contribution of these procedures towards the final target of zero carbon emission in 2050 will also be taken into consideration.
Shen Jong-chin, Vice Premier, commented that offshore wind power policy is one of the critical elements in the implementation of energy transformation for Taiwan, where the goal of 5.7GW by 2025 and a new capacity of 10GW between 2026 and 2035 will depend on the Taiwanese offshore wind power industry ecosystem established by domestic and overseas developers, system integrators, and Taiwanese equipment suppliers. Taiwan has placed high expectations in TOWIA, and looks forward to seeing the association communicating and coordinating between the government, industry, and society that will result in multiple achievements.
The government estimates an accumulated installed capacity of 5.7GW in offshore wind power to be achieved in 2025, which creates approximately NT$1 trillion of investment, and provides nearly 21.5 billion kWh (the equivalent to the need of 5.1 million households in Taiwan) of clean electricity. The outcome is expected to create 20K job opportunities, and actuate an annual carbon reduction of 11.92 million tons.
(Cover photo source: TOWIA)