The nation would be 40 percent behind schedule this year for its offshore wind farm targets, the Bureau of Energy said yesterday, citing delays related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, it said its goal to have “5 gigawatts [GW] in the water by 2025” remains unchanged.
“According to our contracts, a minimum of 933 megawatts [MW] was supposed to join the grid this year, but with the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we are expecting only 557 megawatts,” the bureau said.
Photo: Lin Jing-hua, Taipei Times
The government’s ambitious plans for offshore wind farms originally called for as much as 2.6GW of power from wind turbine generators to join the grid by the end of this year, but there have been numerous delays, including the 376MW Formosa 2 project off Miaoli County implementing two six-month delays and the 350MW Liwei project near Taoyuan being canceled due to concerns over aviation safety.
The COVID-19 outbreak in May came in the middle of the prime construction season, causing major disruption for vessels working on projects after the Central Epidemic Command Center barred foreigners without Alien Resident Certificates from entering the nation.
While fresh crews were allowed to enter under a “special project permission,” Energy Technology Division Director Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said that receiving permission had been “onerous.”
Companies say that the inability to rotate crews has not just caused project delays, but also mental health issues for workers.
“The timing is very unfortunate,” said Raoul Kubitschek, a renewable energy expert at the Taiwan branch of consultancy NIRAS Gruppen A/S. “We have until October before the monsoon makes it impossible to work at sea for the rest of the year.”
Work would then restart in March next year and Kubitschek said that the knock-on effects might make it difficult to catch up.
“There will be bottlenecks, such as availability of harbor space, that will make it difficult to catch up on the lost time,” he said.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old