Taiwan’s Offshore Wind Employs Another Three European Companies

A group of three companies have secured an important project supporting the development of Taiwan’s offshore wind sector. BMT Asia Pacific (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, IT Power and Ramboll will work together to provide consulting services to Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and devise a set of localised, best practice guidelines for the future development of offshore wind farms in Taiwan.

The Taiwan government is actively promoting wind energy with a particular focus on offshore development. Although Asia’s future energy demand will be met from a variety of sources, where offshore wind is viable and attractive, such as offshore Taiwan, this type of resource will form a major element of supply in the future. Current plans are to develop a series of demonstration offshore wind projects, expected to be between 100 to 300MW capacity each.

By 2030, Taiwan will increase its overall wind power capacity (onshore and offshore) from 530MW to 4,200MW under an ambitious renewable energy plan unveiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The upcoming guidelines will directly assist developers in achieving these future targets in an efficient, cost-effective and risk aware manner.

The guidelines will cover design, construction, operation and maintenance aspects, replicating best practice from the UK and around the world whilst reflecting Taiwan’s policy, environmental conditions and industrial setting. Drawing on the related experiences of IT Power, Ramboll and BMT, the guidelines will also provide practical, real-world advice to developers including how to select the appropriate technology to suit Taiwan’s environmental conditions, building on existing guidelines, practices and standards, as applicable.

Dr Richard D Colwill, Managing Director of BMT Asia Pacific, comments: “BMT has advised clients across the globe on developing offshore wind industries and also has detailed experience in analysing the operational and safety requirements of offshore wind projects. Many of BMT’s services are aimed at reducing the cost of offshore wind which is one of the key challenges for the industry. The unrivalled and demonstrable experience of the consortium makes it ideally suited to produce guidelines for offshore wind project developers in Taiwan.”

Joseph Hussey, IT Power’s Head of Ocean Energy says: “IT Power is very excited to be working alongside BMT and Ramboll to provide guidance to ITRI and Taiwanese developers during this important time for the sector in Taiwan. We look forward to sharing our experience gained in the UK market as well as through similar work in China and India.”

Ben Wysome, head of Ramboll’s offshore wind department in the UK, says: “Ramboll has an unparalleled track record in the design of foundations for offshore wind turbines, which enables us to produce cost optimal designs using any relevant foundation concept in steel or concrete. We are pleased to be incorporating this experience alongside the experience of BMT and IT Power for the benefit of future offshore wind farms in Taiwan.” 

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Press release; Image: husumwindenergy (Illustration)