Orsted A/S yesterday said it plans to establish a NT$60 million (US$1.94 million) trust fund in Taiwan, in partnership with other wind power developers, to provide local suppliers with further training and qualifications, after the Danish firm’s board made its final investment decision on Tuesday.
The trust fund would be operated by a third party, such as the Metal Industries Research and Development Center (金工中心), while the firm would also create a platform where smaller suppliers would be encouraged to engage in the local supply chain, Orsted president for Asia-Pacific Matthias Bausenwein told a news conference in Taipei.
The company said that it would further cooperate with local companies in the areas of power facilities and maritime engineering through various projects involving onshore substations, power transmission systems, maritime engineering counseling, environmental monitoring and energy storage systems.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times
The news came as a relief for many, as Orsted had earlier announced that it would suspend activities in Taiwan due to local supply chain complications and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ decision to lower a feed-in tariff to NT$5.516 per kilowatt-hour.
While expressing his relief about the final investment decision, Bausenwein said that the wind power industry needs a stable framework as the company plans to operate its wind farm in Taiwan for at least 25 years.
Orsted offices would be set up in Kaohsiung and Taichung, and the number of employees would be increased to 100, Orsted said, adding that the number of direct and indirect job opportunities related to its wind farm projects in Changhua County is estimated to be 12,000.
The ministry two weeks ago approved the company’s supply chain localization solutions, and on Monday last week Orsed signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Taiwan Power Co (台電) concerning feed-in tariffs.
“We are nevertheless keen to amend the PPA in order to give more certainty to investors,” Bausenwein said, adding that he hopes to obtain more specifics on curtailment and risks.
Orsted would consider signing corporate PPAs, due to recent amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條例) that make it possible to allocate renewable energy to local businesses, Bausenwein said.
The company’s southeast and southwest offshore wind farms would have a total capital expenditure of NT$165 billion, Orsted said.
The two sites are 37km to 50km off the coast of Changhua, and once completed in 2021 or 2022, they would generate 900 megawatts — enough electricity for up to 1 million Taiwanese households, the company said.
Star Energy Corp (星能) is to start onshore construction of two substations this month, creating an estimated 800 to 1,000 jobs, it said.
Orsted said that other companies, such as SinDa Marine Structure Co (興達海基), CSCB Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船), Formosa Heavy Industries Corp (台塑重工), China Engineering Consultants Inc (中華顧問工程), Taiwan Cogeneration Corp (台灣汽電) and Taiwan International Ports Corp (台灣港務), are already involved in the local supply chain, and the company is still in talks with Century Iron & Steel Industrial Co (世紀鋼構).
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is to establish a wind turbine assembly site, the first in Asia, at the Port of Taichung, Orsted added.
The company has issued invitations to local banks for a five-year NT$25 billion revolving credit facility led by Bank Of Taiwan (台灣銀行), Cathay Union Bank (國泰世華銀行) and BNP Paribas, it added.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS