Siemens AG yesterday said it has inked an agreement to supply two wind turbines to Swancor Industry Co Ltd’s (上緯) wind farm operating subsidiary as part of a project to build the nation’s first offshore wind farm.
Formosa I Wind Power Co (海洋風電公司), which is fully owned by Swancor, is to start operating two offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 8 megawatts in Miaoli County in the third quarter of next year, with plans to add 30 units by the fourth quarter of 2019.
GOVERNMENT GRANT
The company plans to invest a total of NT$22.6 billion (US$689.8 million) on a wind farm project after receiving a grant from the Bureau of Energy in 2012 to build offshore wind turbines with installed capacity of 200 megawatts.
Swancor said it had secured NT$2.6 billion in bank loans to finance the installation of the two wind turbines and it is seeking to raise more fund for the remainder by issuing new shares and other financial tools.
Siemens is in talks with Formosa I Wind Power and other wind farm operators to supply more wind turbines to help Taiwan develop renewable and offshore wind power, Siemens Ltd, Taiwan president and chief executive officer Erdal Elver told a media briefing.
The Munich, Germany-based company has also signed a contract to provide maintenance services for Formosa I Wind Power’s wind turbines over a 10-year period. Siemens said it would seek local manufacturers to supply select components at a lower cost.
INCENTIVES
The government has offered incentives to maximize renewable energy development and utilization in the nation.
Companies receiving government subsidies, including Taiwan Generations Corp (永傳能源), to build wind farms can sell the electricity to state-run Taiwan Power Co (台電) via fee-in electricity tariffs over a 20-year period, the Bureau of Energy has said.
The government aims to attract a total of NT$67 billion in investment to build 4 gigawatts in wind farm capacity by 2030, the Ministry of Economics Affairs has said.
Elver said the target is attainable as Taiwan has a potential installed capacity of between 6 gigawatts and 10 gigawatts given its unique location.
Swancor makes wind turbine rotor resin and counts China’s biggest wind turbine maker, Goldwind Science and Technology Co Ltd (金風科技), as one of its major clients.
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Until US President Donald Trump’s return a year ago, when the EU talked about cutting economic dependency on foreign powers — it was understood to mean China, but now Brussels has US tech in its sights. As Trump ramps up his threats — from strong-arming Europe on trade to pushing to seize Greenland — concern has grown that the unpredictable leader could, should he so wish, plunge the bloc into digital darkness. Since Trump’s Greenland climbdown, top officials have stepped up warnings that the EU is dangerously exposed to geopolitical shocks and must work toward strategic independence — in defense, energy and
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