Formosa I (海洋風電), Taiwan’s first offshore wind farm, is to begin commercial operations by the end of this year, according to Swancor Holding Co Ltd (上緯投控), one of the shareholders of the project.
Swancor chairman Robert Tsai (蔡朝陽) said that the phase 2 installation of 20 turbines about 6km off the Miaoli County coast has been completed and commercial operations would start by the end of this year after operating on a trial basis.
Twenty-two turbines have been installed for the Formosa 1 project. The first two, completed in phase 1 in October 2016, have a total capacity of 8 megawatts (MW).
Phase 2, which started at the end of May, but was hindered by severe weather, would add another 120MW, Tsai said.
Several foreign wind power developers are involved in phase 2 as subcontractors, including Belgium-based Jan De Nul NV and Spain-based wind farm builder Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, with input from wind power development specialists, he said.
The completion of phase 2 is a milestone for Swancor, which entered offshore wind power development in Taiwan in 2015, he said.
It also represents progress for Taiwan’s offshore wind power industry, Tsai said.
Formosa 1 is owned by Danish energy developer Orsted A/S, with a 35 percent stake; Japan-based power producer JERA Co, with a 32.5 percent stake; Macquarie Capital Ltd of Australia, with a 25 percent stake; and Taiwan’s Swancor, which owns 7 percent, the project’s Web site says.
Orsted this year received permission to develop offshore wind power in Taiwan, as the government is pushing efforts to add renewable energy sources and build an eco-friendly environment.
Orsted last month said it was planning to issue New Taiwan dollar-denominated green bonds on the local market by the end of the year to raise money for its renewable energy development here.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,