The world’s second-largest offshore wind turbine maker, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind A/S, yesterday signed a conditional contract of purchase with Swancor Holding Co Ltd (上緯投控) to comply with the nation’s supply chain localization requirements.
MHI Vestas last year partnered with another local company, Chin Fong Machine Industrial Co (金豐機器工業), to manufacture 11 wind turbine towers in Taiwan.
The latest agreement would see Swancor supply the Denmark-based company with the basic materials necessary for the production of wind turbine blades, such as epoxy resins, hardeners, adhesives and carbon fiber composites.
MHI Vestas is to deliver 9 megawatt turbine platform units for three of Taiwan’s offshore wind projects.
In a statement, the company outlined the potential of Swancor becoming a global supplier to its wind turbine businesses worldwide.
Swancor chairman Robert Tsai (蔡朝陽) said at the signing ceremony that the company would receive a tremendous amount of orders if it succeeds in tapping into the global supply chain.
Swancor is looking at setting up a local production site of materials for carbon fiber sheets, which would be used in the production of wind turbine blades, in cooperation with Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, he said.
Swancor plans to set up five production lines by the end of next year, producing up to 1.2 million meters of carbon fiber per year, with an annual output value of between NT$600 million and NT$1 billion (US$19.3 million and US$32.1 million), he added.
The Taiwanese chemicals manufacturer had earlier announced the sale of its renewable energy and offshore wind farm subsidiary, Swancor Renewable Energy Co (上緯新能源), to unnamed foreign buyers, after the company last year failed to gain new development rights for wind farm projects in Taiwan from 2021.
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