The deadline for the development of offshore wind power blocks is approaching. Swancor Renewable Energy will hold the Formosa 4 and Formosa 5 Offshore Wind Power Supplier Conference today (26th) to expand the original "Offshore Wind Power Taiwan Team" lineup and partner with more than 30 leading suppliers, banks, and insurance companies to jointly invest in two offshore wind farms in Miaoli. Anna Su, CEO of Swancor Renewable Energy, said that she has shown her determination to support industry-related policies.
Formosa 4 is located in the sea off Tongsiao, Miaoli, 20 kilometers offshore, with a total area of about 85 square kilometers. It is expected to install wind turbines ranging from 9.5MW to 20MW, with a maximum installation capacity of 1,104MW. Formosa 5 is located off the coast of Houlong Township, Miaoli, 20 kilometers offshore, with an area of about 157 square kilometers, at a water depth of between 65 and 80 meters with maximum capacity reaching 1,536MW. It is currently the only floating offshore wind farm that has obtained third stage block development qualification.
In July last year, Swancor partnered with Tienli Offshore Wind, Yeongguan Group, and J&V Energy to form the first "offshore wind power Taiwan Team" jointly established by a local developer and supply chain. At the meeting today, it was also announced that the original lineup will expand and partner with representatives from six major supply chains in the real estate industry, including power equipment, underwater foundation, wind turbine components, marine and marine engineering services, ports, engineering design, etc., to implement Taiwan's independent offshore wind power development capability.
Swancor CEO, Anna Su, also pointed out the advantages of selecting the location of Formosa 4 and 5 including the advantages of local developers, cultivating the real estate industry chain, and completely non-overlapping development, and has signed long-term sales contracts with investment-grade power users.
Lucas Lin, chairman of Shangwei New Energy, said that the Formosa 4 Wind Farm in the third phase of block development is part of a ten-year plan launched in 2019. At that time, Taiwan was also working hard to move from green energy development to a green energy industry. Thus, there will be many domestic companies working together for wind farms and green energy in the future.
In the future, offshore wind power will also develop towards large-scale, larger wind turbines and an uncontrollable ocean environment. Lucas Lin believes that Swancor is an all-round international offshore wind power developer that understands the most about localization. Although wind power technology originates in Europe, now that the wind farm site is located in Taiwan, it is necessary to understand regulations, environmental factors, and culture such as ambient temperatures in the 30-32 degree range where the first thing to know is how to cool down rather than de-icing in winter.
However, in response to the Formosa 5 wind production plan, Lucas Lin pointed out that current floating offshore wind power technology is still in the preliminary stage and the new technology needs to be verified by the government, infrastructure, and ports. At this stage, the bidding is still primarily taking place on the Formosa 4 wind farm project but Formosa 5 has also cooperated with more than two international manufacturers. Anna Su also added, in the industry-related policies announced by the Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there are currently no special localization requirements for floating technology but it will also establish links with Taiwan's supply chain and introduce relevant foreign financing experience.
(Image: TechNews)
