On Monday, Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute, one of the world’s leading technology R&D institutions, announced that it has signed a deal with the U.K.’s industry-led renewable energy accelerator, ORE Catapult, with the support of the Taiwanese Bureau of Energy, to explore technology exchange and cooperation in offshore wind generation.
Figures from energy research consultancy Wood Mackenzie value the size of the global offshore wind energy market at $13.9 billion by 2028, with the Taiwanese market alone likely to top $1 billion. Taiwan’s prospective energy partnership with the U.K.–which is home to the the highest installed offshore wind power capacity in the world–would involve a co-managed Innovation Program, along with a joint working group to focus on wind turbines, submarine cable equipment, and power facilities.
The partnership will also introduce “AI and big data technologies” to promote offshore wind generation operation and maintenance to become more automated, digitalized, and “smart,” with a view to reducing energy costs.
Credit guarantees
The Taiwanese Bureau of Energy recently announced plans to auction 15 GW of offshore wind capacity over the next 15 years. ORE Catapult notes that many of Europe’s leading developers are already active in the Taiwanese market and were responsible for almost GBP 1.7 billion (about $2.4 billion) of inward investment in 2020 alone. U.K. Export Finance (UKEF) is providing credit guarantees of GBP 500 million (about $700 million) to finance several offshore wind projects in Taiwan, opening up a significant export opportunity for the U.K.’s offshore wind sector.
“U.K.-Taiwan cooperation in offshore wind is growing fast, with 30 U.K. businesses now set up in Taiwan to support the sector,” said John Dennis, Representative of the British Office in Taipei in a statement on the proposed partnership.“It’s fantastic to see our partnership develop further with this MOU, which will include U.K.-Taiwan R&D collaboration and spur new innovations in the sector, increasing renewable capacity in Taiwan and helping to reduce carbon emissions.”
“The [Taiwanese] government is committed to such policies to encourage related academic research and technology R&D, with the hope of achieving the energy transition to renewables and becoming a hub for offshore wind generation in Asia,” said Cheng-Wei Yu, Director General of Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy.
The Taiwan Strait
According to ITRI, Taiwan is actively developing renewable energy sources with a view to increasing its energy independence. ITRI President, Dr. Edwin Liu said the Taiwan Strait has the potential to become of the best wind farms in the world, and that collaboration with ORE Catapult shows great promise in realizing that potential.
“This will foster more comprehensive development of the wind generation industry locally and will create a win-win opportunity for the industries of both Taiwan and the U.K.,” he said.
