THE OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY SECTOR

IN TAIWAN

The Offshore Wind Power Industry in Taiwan | 01/2014 ____________________________________________________ 3

The Offshore Wind Power Industry in Taiwan

Flanders Investment & Trade Taipei Office

The Offshore Wind Power Industry in Taiwan | 01/2014 ____________________________________________________ 5

1. CONTENTS

2. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 7

3. CURRENT ONSHORE WIND POWER IN TAIWAN ............................................... 8

4. CURRENT OFFSHORE WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN TAIWAN ....................... 10

A. OFFSHORE WIND POTENTIAL ................................................................... 10

B. TAIWAN’S TARGETS & EFFORTS FOR DEVELOPING WIND ENERGY ................. 11

C. LOCALIZATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN TO MEET LOCAL ENVIRONMENT NEEDS ...... 16

5. MAJOR PLAYERS IN TAIWAN ....................................................................... 17

A. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ......................................................................... 17

B. MAJOR WIND FARM DEVELOPERS ............................................................. 18

C. MAJOR R&D INSTITUTES, INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATIONS AND COMPANIES ........ 19

6. INTERACTION BETWEEN BELGIUM AND TAIWAN ............................................ 23

The Offshore Wind Power Industry in Taiwan | 01/2014 ____________________________________________________ 7

2. INTRODUCTION

Taiwan is an island that highly relies on imported energy (97~99%) to sustain the power supply of the country. Nuclear power was one of the solutions to be pursued to resolve the high dependency of the country to fossil-fired power but the government has been facing the public opinion to adjust the energy policy after the Fukushima incident. Since the public’s confidence towards nuclear power has been shattered, renewable energy has now become the new hope of the country towards the new low-carbon and less-import-dependency energy portfolio for next decades.

Among the renewables, wind and solar energy are considered to be the first-tier resources to be utilized on the island. Especially offshore wind is regarded as one of the most attractive renewables to be developed since the potential capacity is estimated to be at least 6-10GW in the Taiwan Strait and it has many successful examples in Europe. Thus the Taiwanese government has set the target of 3 GW for wind power by 2025. The attractive potential of offshore wind has given Taiwan a good opportunity to increase the portion of renewable energy in power supply and also to develop the local supply chain by growing it along with on-going offshore wind farm developments.

Chart 1: Taiwan Targets 10GW (15%) Renewable Energy by 2025, of which 3 GW contributed by Wind Energy

Year

RE Renewables

2012 2025

Capacity (MW) % Capacity (MW) %

Hydropower 2,040.7 5.04 2,502 3.72

Wind Power 563.8 1.39 3,000 4.46

Photovoltaic 111.9 0.28 2,500 3.72

Biomass 798.5 1.97 1,400 2.08

Geothermal -- -- 150 0.22

Fuel Cell -- -- 200 0.30

Marine Energy -- -- 200 0.30

Total 3,515 8.68 9,952 14.8

Source: Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan