The Taipei-based British Trade and Cultural Office (BTCO) held an international seminar on offshore power and wind turbines yesterday, inviting British experts to share their experiences and seek further collaboration with their Taiwanese counterparts.
Led by Richard Brooks, head of Business Development for Britain’s Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Renewable Deployment Team, a UK delegation comprised of 16 experts from nine companies and three universities delivered presentations at the seminar about the UK’s expertise in the offshore wind power sector.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seminar, BTCO Director Michael Reilly said the seminar was very timely, because as the world faces a major economic slowdown and with the recent collapse in the oil price, some experts and politicians around the world have suggested that this is a time to move slowly toward developing a low-carbon future.
“Acting now will place us all in a better position when the world economy picks up speed once again. Investing now in renewable energy projects will help counter the impact of the slowdown,” Reilly said. “And, most of all, increasing the use of renewable energy now will improve energy security in the years ahead.”
Reilly said this year the UK led the world in installed offshore wind power, with eight operating offshore wind farms having a 589 megawatt capacity. Seven more are under construction.
Noting that Taiwan is also keen to diversify its energy needs and that the Taiwanese government has been promoting the importance of green energy over the past few years, Reilly said Taiwan and the UK have much in common and could work together in this area.
Taiwan has 185 wind turbines installed, with an accumulative capacity of 347 megawatts and is planning to install 200 more in the next five years.
The seminar, titled “International Offshore Wind Power and Wind Turbine Technology” was held by the BTCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy.
It focused on offshore wind power technology, including the development and construction of an offshore wind farm, opportunities for wind turbines, offshore wind turbine concept design and whole-system modeling, design and manufacture of large wind turbine blades and technical issues affecting financing and how to overcome these issues.
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