On 28 July, the ECCT's Low Carbon Initiative (LCI) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) held a policy meeting with key government officials and an array of industry leaders from the Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC), SGRE, Vestas, wpd, Ørsted, TotalEnergies and Blue Float Energy. The objective of the meeting was to discuss Taiwan's position and strategy of offshore wind energy developments in the broader APAC context, envisioning opportunities and developments in floating wind technologies, as well as challenges around port infrastructure and facilities after the announcement of Round 3 offshore wind tenders. This meeting was hosted at Taipei’s Grand Hyatt and served as a prelude to the upcoming Global Offshore Wind Summit Taiwan (GOWST) 2022, which will be held from 17-18 October this year.

The ECCT delegation was led by Vice Chairman and LCI Chair, Giuseppe Izzo and GWEC's CEO Ben Backwell, along with the lead government representatives Yu Cheng-Wei, Director- General of the Bureau of Energy of the MOEA (能源局局長 游振偉), Yeh Hsieh-lung, Director-General of the Maritime Port Bureau of the MOTC (航港局局長 葉協隆), Yang Chi- ching, Deputy Director-General of the Industrial Development Bureau of the MOEA (工業局副局長 楊志清), Chen Rung-tsung, President of Taichung Port of TIPC (臺灣港務公司台中分公司 總經理 陳榮聰), Chen Peng-yong, Senior Executive Officer of the Industrial Development Bureau of the MOEA (工業局專門委員 陳鵬詠), and Huang Wei-Chih, Section Chief of Energy Technology Division, Bureau of Energy of the MOEA (能源局科長 黃韋智). The dialogue was moderated by Sammy Su, Director of the ECCT Low Carbon Initiative. 

Giuseppe Izzo, Vice Chairman of ECCT and Chair of LCI 歐洲商會副理事長暨低碳倡議行動主席 尹容

Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC 全球風能理事會執行長 班 柏克威爾 

Yu Cheng-Wei, Director- General of the Bureau of Energy of the MOEA 能源局局長 游振偉

Yeh Hsieh-lung, Director-General of the Maritime Port Bureau of the MOTC 航港局局長 葉協隆

The event opened with the introductory remarks by Giuseppe Izzo, Ben Backwell, Yu Cheng-Wei and Yeh Hsieh-Lung. Among other topics, they underlined the relevance of the Russo-Ukrainian war as a sharp reminder of the importance of stable energy supplies, and emphasized the importance of political will as the basis for efficient wind energy implementation, with offshore wind being a key of Taiwan’s transition to sustainability and a net zero future.  

Lin Chih-Chen, Head of Governmental Affairs of Ørsted 沃旭能源政府事務與關係總監 林致真

In his presentation, Lin Chih-Chen, Head of Governmental Affairs of Ørsted (沃旭能源政府事務與關係總監 林致真) on behalf of the present offshore wind industry leaders gave recommendations that will ensure the continuity of Taiwan’s leading position in APAC’s offshore wind market. Remarking the geographical advantage of the Taichung port and its strategic relevance in the region, Lin pointed out some of the challenges to be faced ahead, namely the need to improve in and off-port transportation infrastructures as well as turbine-assembly resources and localized manufacturing. 

Chen Rung-Tsung, President of Taichung Port, TIPC  臺灣港務公司台中分公司總經理 陳榮聰

President of Taichung Port Chen Rung-Tsung (臺灣港務公司台中分公司總經理 陳榮聰) talked about the present and the future of the Taichung Port infrastructure, highlighting TIPC’s main objectives and efforts of establishing fitting turbine pre-assembly areas and localizing turbine manufacturing. Contrasting the present 2019-2025 term situation, Mr. Chen presented future policy plans for the 2026-2035 term, which will take into consideration the need to upgrade the capacity of turbine pre-assembly sites, expand backyard area for storage, update berthing rules for OWP vessels, and improve logistics and transportation infrastructure in the port.

Mark Hutchinson, Chair of Southeast Asia Task Force 全球風能理事會-東南亞風電工作組主席

With other countries in the APAC region implementing new strategies and floating wind technologies for the development of offshore wind, Mark Hutchinson, Chair of GWEC's Southeast Asia Task Force, raised the challenges to be met for Taiwan to advance towards leadership in the industry, and advocated for the need to foster regional dialogue and collaboration. 

Yang Chi- ching, Deputy Director-General of the Industrial Development Bureau of the MOEA 工業局副局長 楊志清

During the 40 minutes Q&A session, meeting participants could interact and exchange views on the various policy issues raised during the presentation. 

Overall, the meeting was a successful and productive exchange of expertise that translated into field-specific policy reflections, setting the stage for the 2022 GOWST.