Taiwan will boost its wind power capacity from 530 megawatts to 4,200 megawatts by 2030 under an ambitious renewable energy plan unveiled July 18 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The project, which is expected to generate NT$500 billion (US$17.27 billion) in business for Taiwan’s equipment manufacturers and component suppliers, calls for the installation of 1,050 wind turbines on land and offshore sites.
“Taiwan will install 450 land-based wind turbines with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts by 2020,” MOEA Minister Shih Yen-shiang said, adding that the remaining units will be set up in the following 10 years.
At present, Taiwan has around 300 land-based turbines situated mainly along the western coastline and in outlying Penghu County.
The new units will be able to generate 12.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, or 3.3 percent of Taiwan’s total power generation. These turbines will double renewable energy to 16 percent of Taiwan’s total capacity.
Shih said the MOEA will subsidize the construction of two offshore wind power farms by 2015 through covering 50 percent of equipment costs and providing successful tenders with a one-off payment of NT$250 million.
The MOEA said a number of firms have expressed interest in the program, including Taiwan Generations Corp., state-run Taiwan Power Co. and Teco Electric and Machinery Co. Ltd. Possible locations include Chiayi, Changhua and Yunlin counties.
Details of the initiative are yet to be finalized, the MOEA said, with a formal announcement expected to be made by the end of August.
