Taiwan offshore wind cancellations near a gigawatt as Round 3 flounders

Taiwan has rescinded two offshore wind projects awarded in its last procurement, bringing the total disallowed capacity to 900MW as the island tries to shore up its floundering zero-subsidy Round 3.

Local media reported that Energy Administration (EA) has revoked development rights for Corio-TotalEnergies’ 360MW Haiding 1 and EnerVest’s 240MW Meisen wind farms, both awarded in the second phase of the procurement, known as Round 3.2.

Chao Guo, market analyst at global data intelligence firm TGS, wrote on LinkedIn: “Although both developers submitted the required documents on time, they failed the final review by the Energy Administration.”

Local media, however, indicated that the developers had failed to meet the deadline for contract signing and posting bonds, resulting in their cancellation.

The loss of the two projects in the latest tender raises the total of cancelled capacity to 900MW, as local developer LeaLea Group’s 300MW Haixia phase 1 awarded in Round 3.1 was likewise terminated.

Administrative contracts commit developers to specific timelines and milestones, including grid connection for Round 3.2 awards between 2028-2030.

The projects were awarded last August in the nation’s multi-phase Round 3 that now aims to add more than 9GW to its existing 5.3GW of operating or near-operational capacity.

Taiwan leads the Asia-Pacific region outside China in sector development, with projects in operation including JERA, Macquarie, and SRE’s 376MW Formosa 2 and Orsted's 900MW Changhua 1 & 2. Another 3GW is in late-stage development for commissioning this year.

While its first two rounds saw great success, they were heavily subsidised or had lenient local content requirements.

The first two phases of its Round 3 however have struggled to gain traction as subsidies have declined zero while local content requirements have ramped, resulting in skyrocketing costs to a reported $190/MWh.

Vestas exiting blade JV

Vestas has installed some 900MW of its 9.5MW V174 turbine in Taiwan, with another 300MW in construction.

“For future V236 offshore projects, Vestas will continue to evaluate and procure suitable components based on project requirements and local supply capabilities, reinforcing its ongoing collaboration with Taiwan’s wind industry,” the spokesperson said.

So far, the impact of the relaxed policy has been muted, according to industry analyst Raoul Kubitschek, managing director at consultancy NIRAS Taiwan.

NIRAS has not recalculated levelised cost of energy due to changes in localisation.