US investor plans 4.4GW offshore wind portfolio in Taiwan

Renewable energy developer Swancor Renewable Energy has announced plans to develop a portfolio of 4.4GW worth of offshore wind projects off the north-western coast of Taiwan.

Swancor, which is majority owned by US-based investment firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, announced on Tuesday that it has filed with the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency for environmental permits to begin developing a portfolio of 3 offshore wind projects.

Taiwan is one of the world’s most exciting growth opportunities for offshore wind, with several projects already under construction, and plans to install 5.5GW by 2025 and another 10GW between 2026 and 2035.

Taiwan’s offshore wind aspirations were given a strong foothold with the start of operation on the 8MW Formosa 1 pilot demonstration in 2017 and the expansion to 128MW which was completed at the end of last year.

According to Liming Qiao, the Asia Director for the Global Wind Energy Council, “Taiwan is the most attractive offshore wind market in Asia,” and is expected to deliver 15GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

Formosa 1, and its younger but larger sibling, the 376MW Formosa 2 offshore wind farm which is currently under construction, are both located off the coast of Miaoli County and were developed by Swancor Renewable Energy.

Swancor will now move to build on its experience developing and building offshore wind farms in Taiwan with a new portfolio of projects expected to measure in at 4.4GW.

The portfolio will consist of 3 separate sites – Formosa 4-1, Formosa 4-2, and Formosa 4-3 – and will be spread over a maritime area located 18 to 20 kilometres off the coast of Miaoli County. When completed, with a combined capacity of 4.4GW, the three projects would generate enough electricity for the equivalent of over 4.5 million homes.

According to Swancor, they are considering both bottom-fixed and floating foundations for the projects and will be chosen based on individual site conditions.

Environmental permits have been filed with the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency this week, and following completion of the environmental impact assessment process and securing the requisite government approvals, project contracts, and financing, Swancor expects the three Formosa 4 wind farms would begin operations some time after 2025.