Wind Energy
Taiwan’s Energy Administration has criticised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) after the Danish fund’s local chief claimed that the government had rushed its offshore wind tenders.
The agency, which is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said it found the remarks puzzling and regrettable, given that CIP has won more capacity than any other developer.
The dispute comes as Taiwan prepares to allocate capacity under the third round of its zonal offshore wind programme. Bids for Round 3-3 closed at the end of September, and the ministry plans to complete the selection process and announce the allocations before the end of the year.
Hsu Nai-wen, CIP’s managing director, made the comments at Taiwan’s International Smart Energy Week. He said that Rounds 3-1 through 3-3 had failed to draw investors, and urged the government to make the bidding rules and market conditions more attractive in Round 3-4.
He also called for a full survey of available sea areas before that round.
He said that holding Round 3-4 in the first half of next year would be too soon. The earlier rounds had failed because they were constantly rushed, he said, adding that many developers wanted bolder changes to the tender rules.
He added that CIP had joined every government tender since the second-phase selection in 2018. After each win, CIP has paid on schedule and secured financing on time with backing from state-owned shareholders, including during the pandemic.
Hsu said that future projects would have to move into deeper waters, citing concerns from NGOs and weaker winds closer to shore. Deeper sites require more advanced technology and cost more, and very few developers in Taiwan can build them. He added that better screening of bidders and greater lending by domestic banks would be key to this change.
The Energy Administration said that Taiwan had been pursuing offshore wind for over a decade. It said that every round had undergone public consultation and reached consensus before a fair selection process began. The view of one company could not erase what Taiwan had achieved, the agency added.
In Round 3-3, CIP bid with its Fengmiao 3 offshore wind farm, while Ørsted entered the Dadu 1 project. The two sites, located off the coasts of Taichung and Changhua, overlap heavily, and only one is expected to be selected.
