Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 22 2022

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BlueFloat Energy enters Taiwan

offshore wind market

TAIWAN BLUEFLOAT Energy has entered the Taiwan- development strategy requires a very different
ese offshore wind market, unveiling a project of approach and mindset.”
more than 1 GW for the Asian island nation’s BlueFloat has an existing global portfolio of
much-anticipated Round 3 market auction. both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind
Spain-based BlueFloat said the project, projects totalling more than 22 GW. The com-
named Winds of September, would be off the pany is developing projects including off Aus-
Hsinchu region. Strong winds blow across the tralia, New Zealand, Colombia, Spain, Italy, UK
region every September. and France.
The project site is located 25 km off the coast In Scotland in the UK, BlueFloat – with its
of Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City in an partners Ørsted and Falck Renewables – was
area of around 125 square km at around 70-80 awarded seabed leases in the recent Scotwind
metres of water depth. The turbines would thus lease round for the deployment of three floating
be floating. wind projects with a total capacity of up to 2.7
The news is important because Taiwan – a GW, the company noted.
hot spot of offshore wind development – has a Taiwan’s Round 3 tenders are for wind farms
net-zero emission target by 2050 and because that will be brought online between 2026 to
nascent floating-turbine-foundation technology 2035, according to guidelines published by the
is allowing the offshore wind sector to get estab- Ministry of Economic Affairs.
lished in regions that were previously off-limits Round 3 is being divided into three separate
because of their water depth. auctions, of 1 GW and two of 2 GW, according
The company’s CEO Carlos Martin said: “We to the Asia Wind Energy Association. The first
try to think of bottom-fixed and floating offshore phase took place in Q2 2021, while the second
wind as parallel industries. We believe that float- auction was in Q2 2022 and the third auction,
ing wind farms have a number of important for another 2 GW for 2029/30, is to take place in
differences compared to bottom-fixed pro- Q2 2023, said the association.™
jects and that a successful floating wind project

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