State-run utility Taiwan Power Co. established Oct. 7 its first construction unit specializing in offshore wind turbines, marking a significant step in its efforts to boost green energy production.
“It would be a great loss to the country if we failed to take advantage of the wind resources in the Taiwan Strait, which are among the best in the world,” Taipower Chairman Chu Wen-chen said at the opening ceremony for the Offshore Wind Power Construction Office, based at Taichung Power Plant in central Taiwan.
With a budget of around NT$19.5 billion (US$616.8 million), the first stage of Taipower’s offshore turbine project will be located in the waters west of central Taiwan’s Changhua County. Scheduled to commence operations in June 2020, the first phase will have a power generation capacity of 110 megawatts, or 360 million kilowatt-hours a year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 100,000 households, Chu said.
By 2025, Taipower’s offshore wind farms are expected to reach a total capacity of 1 gigawatt, roughly equal to the output of two of the fossil fuel-fired generators at Taichung Power Plant, according to the company.
Offshore wind facilities are significantly more complex to build and maintain than the terrestrial variety, requiring expertise in advanced marine construction techniques, Chu said, adding issues concerning environmental protection, fishing and maritime navigation must also be addressed.
“This specialized unit has been formed not just to install wind turbines for electricity generation, but to accumulate related skills and experience,” the chairman said. “Our goal is to recruit and cultivate local talent in this field.”
Over the past two decades, Taipower has erected 169 of the nation’s more than 330 onshore wind turbines. The company’s facilities, located in coastal regions of Taiwan and its offshore islands, have a total power generation capacity of about 294 megawatts.
Taipower’s offshore wind power program is part of the government’s efforts to transition to a nuclear-free homeland and foster the use of renewables. The administration’s target is to increase the ratio of electricity generated via renewable resources such as biomass, solar and wind from the current total of roughly 3 percent to 20 percent by 2025. (KTJ-E)
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