Denmark’s Orsted to build two Taiwanese wind farms
The decision to go ahead with the projects comes after the Changhua 1 and 2a farms were put on hold earlier this year due to political uncertainty regarding the feed-in tariffs it would receive
COPENHAGEN: The world’s largest offshore wind developer Orsted said on Tuesday it had decided to proceed with building two wind farms in Taiwan, a growth market and stepping stone to the wider Asian market.
The decision to go ahead with the projects comes after the Changhua 1 and 2a farms were put on hold earlier this year due to political uncertainty regarding the feed-in tariffs it would receive.
Orsted said it had now signed a power purchase agreement with Taipower for the wind farms with a capacity of 900 megawatts, which is enough to supply around 1 million Taiwanese households with green power.
The wind farms will be constructed in 2021 and 2022.
Taiwan is making a big push to attract investment in renewable technology as it phases out nuclear power by 2025, after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan highlighted the risks of using nuclear energy in a region prone to earthquakes.
For developers in Europe, where expanding offshore wind projects particularly in the North Sea have driven down costs, Taiwan is seen as a route into Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea.
Source: reuters
