Robust infrastructure and a clear regulatory framework are the key elements in the nation’s efforts to develop offshore wind farms, foreign industry representatives said at a forum in Taipei on Wednesday.
Taiwan is moving fast to introduce offshore wind farms, said Martin Skiba, chairman of World Forum Offshore Wind (WFO), the first organization dedicated to fostering the global growth of offshore wind energy and the forum’s organizer.
As the sector is just emerging, there are challenges that need to be addressed, Skiba said.
Typical challenges are the inability to develop robust infrastructure, including reinforcement of onshore grid networks and harbor facilities to better install transmission lines, he said.
The biggest concern about investing in Taiwan is the need for a clear and detailed industry road map, Germany-based Innogy director of offshore investment and asset management Richard Sandford said.
While recognizing that Taiwan has set a goal of generating 5.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2025, Sandford said the related regulatory framework is not in place.
“You’ve got the target, which is great,” he said, adding that there are no details as yet about bidding on tariffs, for instance, including how often auctions would be held and how much generating capacity is to be auctioned.
“We don’t yet know the details of the rules,” he said. “Having clarity over the regulatory work would be very useful.”
WFO members have set a target of generating more than 500 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2050 worldwide, based on them adding a record total of 5 gigawatts last year.
Skiba said he is not sure what proportion Taiwan would contribute by then, but added that Asia is likely to produce between 300 and 350 gigawatts, making it the biggest market in the sector.
There are no Taiwanese companies directly involved in the WFO yet, but interested local companies in the offshore wind farm supply chain are welcome to join the group, he said.
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
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