The Australian parliament yesterday passed legislation setting a framework for developing offshore wind farms and transmission lines, in a big boost to several multibillion-dollar proposed projects as the country looks to replace coal-fired power.
Projects that have been awaiting the new laws include the 2.2 gigawatt Star of the South wind project off the coast of Victoria, and Sun Cable, which plans to deliver solar power via an undersea cable from the Northern Territory to Singapore.
“The [Australian Prime Minister Scott] Morrison Government’s offshore electricity infrastructure package will unlock development of a new industry that will create thousands of skilled regional jobs, strengthen our economy, and support a more affordable and secure energy system,” Australian Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said in a statement.
Photo: AP
Star of the South, the most advanced offshore wind project in the works, said modeling showed it could create 3,000 direct jobs.
The project is led by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Star of the South CEO Casper Frost Thorhauge welcomed the passage of the legislation and said he looked forward to working on detailed regulations needed for projects to go ahead.
Locations identified by Australia’s energy market operator as ideal for offshore wind farms happen to be near industrial hubs that currently rely on coal-fired power, such as the Hunter Valley in New South Wales and Gippsland in Victoria.
The Victoria state government on Tuesday announced A$40 million (US$28.8 million) in funding for three offshore wind project developers — Star of the South, Macquarie Group Ltd and Flotation Energy PLC.
Research group Beyond Zero Emissions estimates offshore wind could provide the energy needed for green steel and aluminum, hydrogen and ammonia production, which could help generate A$333 billion in green exports by 2050.
“Offshore wind is the key that will unlock the industrial future of regional Australia,” Beyond Zero Emissions head of policy Tom Quinn said in a statement.
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
RSS