Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy (BOE) is planning to release new offshore wind zones for development after 2026 as it eyes a 1GW annual build-out in the latter half of the next decade.

The island's energy regulator is studying options for allocating more offshore wind capacity and is scheduled to hold a public consultation on the issue in the second quarter of this year, BOE director Chung-Hsien Chen, Director told the Global Offshore Wind Summit in Taipei this week.

BOE has identified a total of 21.2GW of feasible development in Taiwan’s waters, including 1.2 GW in 20-50-metre shallow waters, 10GW at 20-50 metres, and 10GW in deep waters of 50 metres or more, he told the event, organised by World Forum Offshore Wind.

Following two rounds of high-profile project allocations last year, 5.5GW capacity is under development, of which the first 1GW is slated to complete construction “by the end of next year,” Chen said. The rest will gradually come online during 2021-2025.

But the energy regulator is starting to look toward 2026-2030, or “the third phase development” of Taiwan’s offshore wind sector, the official revealed.

“The current idea is to have 1GW (installed wind capacity) per year during 2026 and 2030.

“We are weighing on different options for the future allocation measure,” the official added, “and [an] auction is not the only option”.

Some 4.5GW of projects passed environmental assessment but failed to secure a berth in BOE’s allocation processes last year. “One of the main questions is whether we should prioritise the 4.5GW remaining capacity in the future allocation,” Chen said.

The outstanding capacity includes projects from of Orsted, CIP, China Steel, Taipower, Swancor, Northland Power (NPI), Taiwan Green Power and Asia Cement.

The morale-boosting speech by the official came after Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) finally issued establishment permits to some wind developers on 31 January – a month too late for the companies to secure a better feed-in tariff (FIT), prompting widespread dismay from the likes of sector leader Orsted.

MOEA compromised by offering a higher FIT this year than the originally-proposed figure, but some developers still have concerns about the economics, as most projects are also under local content obligations.

After the establishment permits and power purchase agreements, the developers still need to secure construction permits before the project starts.

“The construction permits require the developers to secure agreements with the local fishery industry over compensation, while most developers have yet to start the negotiations, ” energy law expert Gao Ming-Zhi told Recharge.

The lack of progress in fisheries compensation could add to the uncertainty surrounding existing projects, Gao warned.

Due to the opposition of local fishermen, a demonstration project, the Fuhai Offshore Wind Farm, was eventually left stranded in 2018.

Wind

Taiwan reveals offshore wind plans for late-2020s