Windfarm Assets

Offshore Windfarm Assets / Academic Industry Cooporation

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Project Background

TGC has been dedicated to the development of offshore wind farms in Taiwan for nearly 2 decades. Since 2004, we have set up a 50-meter met mast at the intertidal zone of Hanbao, Changhua County, Taiwan. The met mast continues to collect wind data in Changhua sea area. The data is instrumental for developers to develop wind farms, financial institutions to assess financial feasibility and contractors to design, manufacture and install relevant equipment.

TGC partnered with CSBC Corporation (CSBC) and Century Iron & Steel Factory Co., Ltd (CIAS) to jointly initiate the Fuhai Project. The Fuhai Project was selected as “The best demonstrator” from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan under the "Offshore Wind Power System Demonstration Incentive Program", obtaining the status of "Awardee to Be". TGC then started the development and management of Fuhai wind farm. In July 2015, TGC has erected the very first offshore met mast in Taiwan with its design, manufacturing and installation being undertaken by domestic manufacturers CSBC and CIAS. The aforementioned domestic manufacturers have thus accumulated track records and experiences through the construction process of Fuhai met mast. Furthermore, the track records and experience have paved a way for those manufacturers to work with foreign developers, win business in the Potential Site stage and become leading players in the localization of offshore wind farms.

As a pioneer in wind farm development in Taiwan, Fuhai Wind Farm has achieved several milestones, including:

1. Environmental Impact Assessment standard: In December 2012, Fuhai passed the preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment Panel Review by the Environmental Protection Agency, becoming the first offshore wind farm in Taiwan to achieve this important milestone. The engineering design and environmental monitoring plans proposed by Fuhai Wind Farm, such as the casing subsea foundation, were later used as a basis for future reviews by the Environmental Protection Agency of the Executive Yuan, shaping the principles of environmental impact assessment review that are still prevalent to this day.

2. The first offshore wind farm project backed by local credit guarantee and debt instrument: In April 2013, the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Fund (SMEG) provided guarantee for the development financing of Fuhai offshore wind farm. As a result, in May 2013 First Commercial Bank, a Taiwanese bank, made available NT$83.61 million to Fuhai to finance the wind farm development. Fuhai wind farm became the first offshore wind farm project in Taiwan to be guaranteed by SMEG and financed by local banks. Moreover, based on previous financing results and development performance, Fuhai continued to receive the support from SMEG who guaranteed 80% of NT$220 million financing provided by the Taiwan Cooperative Bank.

3. The first offshore met mast: In 2015, Fuhai established the very first offshore met mast "Fuhai Met Mast" in Taiwan. With Fuhai Met Mast and the 50-meter wind measuring NRG in Hanbao intertidal zone of Changhua City which was built in 2004, TGC and its subsidiary, Fuhai Corporation, have continued to collect wind, ocean, wave and current related data of Changhua Sea area for the past 20 years. The data collected by the met mast has also been evaluated and verified by third-party consultants. Moreover, the relevant data has been used by domestic banks for financial feasibility assessment, laying the foundation for the localization of the design, manufacturing and installation.

4. Fishery compensation mechanism: Fuhai Project finalized the first fishery compensation agreement which targets "outside the exclusive fishery right area" in Taiwan. By entrusting Professor Ou of NTOU, Fuhai established a transparent and objective compensation calculation and negotiation mechanism. This framework laid the foundation for the 'Offshore Wind Farm Fisheries Compensation Standards' subsequently announced by the Council of Agriculture, becoming the prevailing regulatory framework for fisheries compensation. In addition, Fuhai also obtained the first consent letter concerning offshore wind farms in Changhua sea area issued by the Changhua County Government in accordance with the electricity business registration rules, setting up clear standards for formulated feedback plan, feedback methods and other important consent letter issuance requirements. TGC was also the first developer to reach an agreement with the Fisheries Association and paid NT$35 million in feedback funds to Changhua Fishery Association.

5. Academia-Industrial collaboration: Since 2012, in conjunction with the first and second phases of the National Energy Program by the National Science Council (now the Ministry of Science and Technology), TGC has engaged in nearly 20 collaborative projects with six universities, including National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University, National Taiwan Ocean University, National Chung Cheng University, National Chiao Tung University, and three research entities, namely the National Applied Research Laboratories, the Atomic Energy Council's Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, and the National Center for High-Performance Computing. These projects encompass such areas as marine meteorology, ocean dynamics, seabed geology and topography, grid integration technology, underwater noise simulation, marine ecology, and environmental surveys. All research outcomes have been used in shaping national energy policies and advancing technological research. Currently, TGC collaborates with Cheng Kung University and the National Space Agency using the Fuhai Marine Meteorological Tower for data inversion related to the Seeker satellite. This collaboration aims to integrate practical experiences in offshore wind farm operation and maintenance with the expertise of domestic academic institutions, contributing to more accurate forecasting of severe weather conditions in Taiwan and reducing the uncertainty of disaster warnings. The research findings are applied to technical research and assist in the planning and development of services by the Taiwan Offshore Wind Farm Service Company (TOWSC). This marks the first-ever collaboration between the offshore wind power industry and space science in Taiwan.

Development Stage

The Fuhai Wind Farm was the first offshore wind farm development project in the country. At that time, domestic regulatory environment was still in the early developmental stages, and regulations were still evolving and subject to frequent revisions. Authorities also lacked experience in coordinating such matters, posing additional challenges for the Fuhai Wind Farm project.

Regarding Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the project was wrongly deemed unfit for development by the EIA Review Committee in February 2018, due to issues unrelated to EIA and outside of Fuhai’s control. However, this decision was later revoked by the Administrative Appeals Commission in a letter dated 2019, case number 1080163241. Ultimately, the Fuhai Wind Farm obtained EIA approval in March 2019.

Subsequently, the Fuhai Wind Farm was granted with the installation consent, despite of unforeseen changes to the Electricity Registration Regulations. Later, development right for the project site was secured by a provisional injunction order, and the exclusive right for the site was further confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court. Fuhai Corporation then applied to the Ministry of Economic Affairs for establishment permit, which was initially denied. However, through two rulings, one in 2021 (case number 1100186611) and another in 2022 (case number 1110178871) by the Administrative Appeals Commission, these denials were overturned. The development right for the Fuhai Wind Farm has been once again recognized and protected by law. Building upon this legal foundation, Fuhai Corporation will continue to develop the wind farm.