Taiwan’s wind farm sector sets 5.7GW goal by 2025

Taiwan has set itself high goals for offshore wind, but will not hit these targets without help from the rest of the world, says global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

The crew and cargo transfer vessel contract was worth $3 million to Strategic Marine and will be owned and operated by Prosperous Wind Shipping, which will use it for construction, maintenance and operations from this April.

Taiwan’s offshore wind industry is in its infancy, with the first few steps just being taken but an ambitious goal set of installing 5.7GW by 2025.

The first project was installed in 2019, according to Norton Rose Fulbright, with a generating capacity of just 128MW.

The lawyers say that to hit its goal of installing more than 700 turbines by 2025, Taiwan will need to throw $20 billion at the industry.

“Taiwan’s ambitious program to promote offshore wind power as a major energy source – installing over 700 turbines in the Taiwan Strait by 2025 – will require an estimated investment of US$20 billion, the firm said in its Focus on Taiwan commentary. “Lacking experience in the industry, Taiwan is relying heavily on the participation of global players by making firm policy commitments, offering attractive subsidized rates, and adopting new financing models.”

Strategic Marine, which is based in Singapore, has customers all over the world, with the government of Bermuda selecting the yard to build two 550-passenger catamarans last month.

In January, the company was selected to build a fast crew boat for Bruneian oil and gas company Amarco.