Orsted A/S has signed an agreement with Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) to sell a 50 percent stake in a wind farm off the coast of Changhua County for NT$53.3 billion (US$1.64 billion), the Danish renewable energy company said in a statement yesterday.
Under the deal, Cathay Life and its subsidiary Cathay Wind Power Holdings Co (國泰風能) would acquire the stake in Orsted’s 583-megawatt (MW) Greater Changhua 4 offshore wind farm. The new investors have committed to funding half of the project’s engineering, procurement and construction costs, the statement said.
Orsted would retain 50 percent ownership of the wind farm, it said
Photo courtesy of Orsted Taiwan
The Greater Changhua 4 project is part of Orsted’s 920MW offshore wind farms Greater Changhua 2b and 4, which the company expects to complete by the end of next year.
The total 920MW capacity of Greater Changhua 2b and 4 is covered by a 20-year fixed-price corporate power purchase agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Orsted said.
Under the agreement, Orsted would be solely responsible for the construction of the Greater Changhua 4 project, and it would also provide long-term operations and maintenance services for the project through its O&M base at the Port of Taichung.
Two sides are expected to close the deal by the end of this year, with Orsted receiving the proceeds between this year and next year, the statement said.
Cathay Life is a subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控). Its affiliate Cathay Private Equity Co (國泰私募股權基金) is also an investor in Orsted’s Greater Changhua 1 offshore wind farm.
Cathay Life said it has secured approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission for the investment, which is the largest ever by a Taiwanese life insurer in an offshore wind farm.
“This investment underscores our dedication to supporting the government’s renewable energy transition while simultaneously generating stable, long-term returns that align with the investment goals of the insurance sector,” Cathay Life president Andrew Liu (劉上旗) said in the statement.
Cathay Life and Cathay Wind Power would continue to invest in offshore wind power development in Changhua County, Cathay Financial has said.
In the first 11 months of the year, the holding company posted NT$113.1 billion in net profit, up 100.8 percent from the same period last year, with earnings per share of NT$7.44, to remain the second-most profitable among its peers in Taiwan.
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