German utility Innogy has entered the booming Taiwanese offshore wind market through a strategic partnership with Asia Cement Corp.
The two companies have agreed on a strategic partnership to further develop the 448MW Chu Feng offshore wind project in the Taiwan Strait. The companies plan to take part with the project off the northwest coast of Taiwan near Hsinchu City in the next grid allocation round in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s recently re-elected government soon is expected to announce allocation rules for a third stage of offshore wind projects for development between 2026-2035, which could be auctioned off in two 5GW tranches.
"The government has plans to considerably increase the role of offshore wind energy in Taiwan's electricity production,” Innogy senior vice president Sven Utermöhlen said.
“The Chu Feng project will enable us to enter this growing market with a strong local partner at our side, whose local expertise complements our global experience and technical know-how, and who share our ambition to drive the growth of offshore wind in Taiwan."
Innogy’s project in Taiwan will soon become part of the pipeline of German power producer RWE, which later this year will incorporate Innogy’s generation assets as part of a three-way deal with rival utility E.ON.
Innogy is one of the world's leading operators of offshore wind farms, and has been involved in the deployment of more than 2.5GW offshore wind capacity in Europe. The company last year has won a CfD tender for the 1.4GW Sofia project off the UK.
Innogy had already opened a local office in Taipei in 2018 to drive its business in Taiwan and the wider Asia-Pacific region with a target to build up regional knowledge and expertise by joining forces with local partners.
