More than 200 industry practitioners joined this online meeting with more than 16 companies sharing best practice in offshore wind farm Operations and Maintenance (O&M), smart grid and innovative floating offshore wind technology. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between CSBC, Taiwan's largest ship builder and Flotation Energy, a British floating wind developer, focusing on collaboration on floating wind development in Taiwan. The MoU signing was witnessed by YU Cheng-Wei, Director General of Bureau of Energy and John Dennis, British Representative in Taiwan.
Through its energy transition policy, Taiwan plans to increase the proportion of renewable energy power generation to 20% by 2025 and become an offshore wind power hub in the Asia region. The three stages of Taiwan's offshore wind power policy include demonstration, potential, and zonal development. Recently Taiwan officially began Phase 3 of offshore wind development. "The Developer Selection Mechanism for Phase 3 (Zonal Development) of Offshore Wind" was announced on 19th August 2021 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs after extensive consultation with stakeholders. 15 GW of capacity will be released in phases from 2026 to 2035. It is expected to steadily develop Taiwan's offshore wind market and move toward an environmentally sustainable future.
With rapid offshore wind expansion and ambitious energy transition, Taiwan has the potential to become a leader in the Asia Pacific region in the offshore wind industry. The UK government is investing in technologies to bring more green energy into the UK grid system. Offshore wind is becoming cheaper and more economically compelling every year, and the UK is at the forefront of this innovation, and the UK is committed to sharing this innovation with Taiwan.
30 UK offshore wind companies are already established in Taiwan - a strong sign of confidence in Taiwan's offshore wind market. The UK has the experience and commercial capabilities to help Taiwan build a robust supply chain of developers, setting the global standard for offshore wind development. Capitalising on new technologies such as floating offshore wind will cement Taiwan as the region's leading offshore wind market.
TSENG Wen-Sheng, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs remarked:
This Roundtable Meeting has acted as an important platform for regular dialogue and cooperation on renewable energy between Taiwan and the UK. To achieve our target of 20% renewable energy generation by 2025, Taiwan has been working on accelerating its offshore wind farm development. In line with the global RE100 initiative, more and more Taiwanese enterprises have committed to the RE100 goal, and thus domestic demand for clean energy is increasing. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will continue to promote the expansion of renewable energy related plans in order to supply domestic green power demand.
John Dennis, British Office Representative said:
The British Office has a long history of working with Taiwan in offshore wind. As Taiwan embarks on its energy transition, we are excited to see how this relationship develops. The industry is evolving, with new technology on the horizon. In the years ahead, we will strengthen our relationship with Taiwan by sharing these technologies and methods, helping ensure Taiwan remains at the apex of Asia's offshore wind development.
Huub den Rooijen, Managing Director (Marine) of The Crown Estate as the UK Chair of the 16th UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Roundtable Meeting also commented:
Great wind resources and strong government leadership have catapulted Taiwan to the premier league of offshore wind developers. Similar to the UK, continuous dialogue between industry and stakeholders is critical to create favourable investment conditions, and we are pleased to share our experiences with Taiwan.
Taiwan Chair, YU Cheng-Wei, Director General of Bureau of Energy also said:
I am glad to have continued to organise this Roundtable Meeting for the sixteenth time with the UK, and I am also delighted to witness the MOU signing between CSBC Corporation Taiwan and Flotation Energy from the UK. I look forward to seeing more Taiwanese and British companies cooperate in the renewable energy field in the future. At today's meeting, a lot of government and industry representatives from both sides were invited and put forward very insightful ideas and knowledge exchanges. The UK has always been an important partner for Taiwan to achieve our energy transition goals, and Taiwan is also working hard on expanding the deployment of renewable energy and offshore wind. Therefore, I believe there will be more cooperation opportunities for both sides to work together towards the goal of net zero carbon emissions.
