Wpd Taiwan Energy Co Ltd (達德能源), the local subsidiary of Germany-based Wpd Group, on Wednesday said it is to receive about NT$82.5 billion (US$2.83 billion) in project financing from 12 domestic banks to develop offshore wind farms.
The company has received substantial support from local lenders, including two state-run banks, Wpd Taiwan chairwoman Yuni Wang (王雲怡) said at a workshop in Taipei.
The financing project marks Wpd Taiwan as the first operator of offshore wind farms to secure funding from state-owned financial services providers, the company said.
State-run banks are generally more conservative about investing in businesses that develop offshore wind power, especially after the high-profile loan fraud involving Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co (慶富造船), Wang said.
Wpd Taiwan could secure the support of state-owned lenders because the company has been working on energy projects in Taiwan for more than 10 years, she said.
The NT$82.5 billion fund, which makes up about 81 percent of the wind power financing project, has the highest participation of Taiwanese banks compared with projects advanced by other wind farm operators in Taiwan, she said.
Local participants include Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行), CTBC Bank (中信銀行) and E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行).
A total of 39 investors have expressed interest in joining the financing project, including 12 foreign banks and 15 foreign financial institutions, Wpd Taiwan said.
The firm, which aims to develop an offshore wind farm in Taoyuan and one in Yunlin, is to join a selection process for offshore wind farm projects held by the Ministry of Economic Affairs next month.
The Executive Yuan has set a target of 0.52 gigawatts of installed capacity at offshore wind farms by 2020.
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