An alliance to develop offshore wind power operations was formed yesterday to tap into the commercial opportunities created by a government policy to develop “green” energy.
The alliance, signed at CSBC Corp, Taiwan, headquarters in Kaohsiung, also includes Taiwan Power Co, China Steel Corp, Chunghwa Telecom Co, the Steel Industries Research and Development Center, the Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the CR Classification Society and other companies.
Shipbuilder CSBC is to coordinate the alliance and rely on its specialties to jointly plan, install and maintain facilities and train people for the construction of offshore wind-driven generators.
The state-owned firm said that offshore wind power construction is a formative industry, but strong experience and technology provided by alliance members means it is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that exist.
CSBC has engaged in offshore wind-powered electricity generation development in recent years and set up a meteorological and oceanographic observation tower off Changhua County’s Fangyuan Township (芳苑), the first in Taiwan, in July last year.
Sources said Taiwan is well-suited for the development of offshore wind power, because the top 10 natural offshore wind farms in the world are in the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan has the potential to develop 11.5 gigawatts of wind power, and could install a total of 5.7 gigawatts, while output value in 2030 could reach NT$700 billion (US$22.25 billion) by 2030 and create nearly 20,000 jobs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy said.
The alliance, known as the Marine Team, has set goals in two stages: develop 520 megawatts of wind power by the end of 2020 and develop 3,000 megawatts of wind power by the end of 2025.
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