Danish wind energy developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has sold more than 12 percent of its Taiwanese wind farm holdings to Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險) and Transglobe Life Insurance Co (全球人壽) through a joint venture, it said yesterday.
Earlier this month, CIP formed Taiwan Wind Investment Co Ltd (台灣風能) with the insurance companies to sell them a combined 12.5 percent of its stake in the Chang Fang (彰芳) and Xidao (西島) wind farms to comply with Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) regulations.
FIRST FOR INSURERS
The FSC approved the investments of NT$2.5 billion (US$83.47 million) and NT$1.7 billion from Taiwan Life and Transglobe respectively, making them the first insurers to invest in wind energy.
Taiwan Life Insurance said it has invested up to NT$7 billion to date in the nation’s green energy sector.
CIP remains the largest shareholder, with an 87.5 percent stake, in the two wind farms, which have a combined capacity of 600 megawatts and are scheduled to integrate with the nation’s power grid by 2024.
A SENSIBLE DEAL
Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy chairman Eugene Chien (簡又新) said the sale makes sense as input and support from the finance industry is necessary.
The government plans to reach a combined capacity of 7.5 gigawatts in offshore wind energy by 2025, which would require investments of an estimated NT$850 billion, which might be difficult for wind developers to shoulder alone, he said.
BUILDING TIES
CIP Taiwan project office chief executive Jesper Krarup Holst said the company is the first among wind energy developers to receive investments from local life insurance companies and aims to strengthen cooperation between the offshore wind power industry and the finance industry.
Holst is confident that CIP would meet all requirements set by the Taiwanese government, he added.
CIP signed power purchase agreements with Taiwan Power Co (台電) in February last year and has also obtained approval from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau.
The firm is currently developing, with China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Diamond Generating Asia Ltd (DGA), the Site 29 project, which would have a capacity of 300 megawatts and is scheduled to be completed by 2024.
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