Synera swoops for Taiwan offshore wind stake leaving earlier bidder empty handed

Synera Renewable Energy (SRE) unit, a portfolio company of US private equity firm Stonepeak, has bought Macquarie's 26% stake in Taiwan's 376MW Formosa 2 offshore wind farm by exercising a right of first refusal.

Synera was one of the original developers of Formosa 2 and, with the departure of Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group, will now hold a 51% controlling stake, with Japan's JERA remaining as on 49%.

In January, Macquarie had announced that it would be selling its 26% stake in the project to Pine Wind Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan's J&V Energy.

But Synera's right of first refusal means its decision to match the undisclosed sale price will prevail.

"The increased ownership allows us to further enhance the wind farm’s performance and governance, and to ensure a stable supply of clean energy that supports Taiwan’s export-oriented industries and strengthens confidence in the long-term, healthy development of the offshore wind sector,” said SRE chair Lucas Lin.

Synera hinted at deeper-running motives in its announcement on Tuesday.

"As the original shareholder and developer, SRE not only recognises the operational performance of project delivery and the socio-economic value of asset accumulation, but also believes that all projects in the development, construction or operation stage should receive reasonable valuations," the company stated.

SRE argued that wind farms should be backed by investors with "long-term business vision... rather than those pursuing short-term market returns", and suggested that the acquisition demonstrates its own "firm stance of taking action to maintain the order and stability of Taiwan's offshore wind power market when market prices deviate significantly."

The Formosa 2 wind farm is located off the coast of Zhunan Township, Miaoli County and was connected to the grid in 2023 after deploying 8MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbines.

Synera has been a pioneering developer of offshore wind in Taiwan, and also constructed the 128MW Formosa 1 offshore wind farm.

As a Stonepeak portfolio company SRE has continued to increase its exposure to Taiwan's offshore wind sector.

In 2022 the company was awarded 495MW of development capacity for Formosa 4 and is now developing this project, stating that it may be able to double this nameplate capacity in a later phase.

Synera has also signalled that it will invest in floating offshore wind as fixed-bottom sites in the Taiwan Strait approach full capacity.

The company has already taken the Formosa 5 project through environmental impact assessment, citing maximum potential capacity of 1.5GW and describing this as "the first floating offshore wind project to obtain development rights in Taiwan".

Fengmiao farm out

In another M&A move involving Taiwan, one of the funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has entered into an agreement to divest a 10% stake in the 495MW Fengmiao I offshore wind farm to Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).

Fengmiao I — located off the coast of Taichung County — is one of CIP’s three offshore wind projects in Taiwan.

Its development commenced in 2020, and site exclusivity and grid allocation were secured in Taiwan’s Round 3.1 auction in December 2022.

Its Round 3.1 awarded seven projects totaling some 3GW in 2022, but only five followed through with signed administrative contracts.

Construction was initiated following financial close in March 2025, and CIP said construction will be completed by the end of 2027.

Thomas Wibe Poulsen, partner and head of Asia-Pacific at CIP, said: "The transaction recognises the value created by CIP during the development phase as well as CIP’s strong offshore wind track record in Taiwan.”