Dirty money taints Taiwan's clean energy as German wind developer blackmailed
A local government official was convicted of extorting Wpd by using his influence to stimulate protests, while two company officers were sentenced in bribery case
Wind power's reputation as “clean energy” took a hit with two cases of corruption affecting German developer Wpd in central Taiwan.
A former mayor of Mailiao township in Yunlin County, Taiwan was convicted of extorting Wpd's local subsidiary of TWD3.2bn ($105,000) through the lever of mass protests.
Tsai Chang-kun was convicted of using his position to organise mass protests in the name of residents’ rights against a wind farm under development by Wpd and then seeking payoffs to stop them. Tsai was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
This is not the first time Wpd has had brushes with corruption on the island nation across from China's Fujian Province, and two of its own officers were also recently convicted in bribery cases.
Wpd chairwoman Wang Yun-yi was sentenced to two years in prison, while company employee Pan Cheng-kang was given a six-month sentence, both for bribing Yunlin County government officials. The government officials were expected to eliminate local resistance to wind power projects and smooth the way for local permits.
Wpd entered the Taiwan market in 2000 and developed the nation’s first wind project in 2005. It currently operates 500MW, with another 275MW in development, as well as a small stake in solar development.
Skyborn in collaboration with local firm LeaLea Group was also awarded around 1GW in two separate projects in the nation’s troubled Round 3 procurement.