Danish energy company Orsted A/S is to provide new solutions to unresolved problems related to the localization of its industrial supply chain in Taiwan, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said yesterday.
“At the moment, Orsted fails to meet the localization requirements in two domains: submarine foundations and foundation piles, mainly due to domestic industries’ lack of production capacity,” Shen told a regular meeting at the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taipei.
“Orsted is therefore required to obtain proof from these industries attesting to this fact, which in turn must be double-checked by relevant industry associations,” he said.
The Danish wind power company has proposed two solutions: establishing assembly plants in advance and setting up a fund to help provide electric welding training to local industries, he added.
The ministry is also mulling the possibility of having Orsted localize its industrial supply chain in future wind plants bids, Shen said.
Orsted said that it has already signed several deals with local companies for its southeast and southwest offshore projects off Changhua County, including for 56 submarine pipe racks from SinDa Marine Structure Co (興達海基), a subsidiary of China Steel Corp (中鋼); 60 foundation piles from CSCB Corp Taiwan (台灣國際造船); and 69 foundation piles from Formosa Heavy Industries Corp (台塑重工), a unit of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團).
It said it is in talks with Century Iron & Steel Industrial Co (世紀鋼構) for 81 foundation piles.
It would strive to help Taiwanese industries develop skills related to the construction of wind power plants and establish a local supply chain, the company said.
“We have already submitted proof concerning our efforts to localize, which we hope relevant authorities will rapidly approve,” Orsted said in a statement.
The company has five offshore wind projects under development in Taiwan.
Construction of the Changhua offshore projects is scheduled to start next month, it said, adding that the facilities should be operation after 2021 and provide power to 280,000 households.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
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