Ørsted has decided not to submit a bid in the first auction of the Round 3 Zonal Development Phase in Taiwan, the developer announced on 30 September.
“As the largest and most experienced offshore wind developer in Taiwan, we had to take stock of the limitations set by the current regulation, which in combination with high inflation and increasing interest rates led us to conclude, after exhausting all efforts, that we cannot make the projects investable at this stage” , said Per Mejnert Kristensen , Head of Region Asia-Pacific at Ørsted.
Taiwan continues to be a strategic market for Ørsted, which will continue dialogues with the authorities about the framework conditions for future tenders and will discuss with key suppliers and strategic partners to decide next steps, according to Per Mejnert Kristensen.
In Taiwan, Ørsted is the largest shareholder (35 per cent) of the first commercial-scale offshore wind project, Formosa 1, and will soon commission its 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farm.
The company is also progressing the development of its next large-scale offshore wind farm in Taiwan, the 920 MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4, for which it was awarded construction rights in Taiwan’s first offshore wind auction in 2018.
In addition, Ørsted is developing a leading portfolio of offshore wind sites that can compete in future tenders in Taiwan, the company noted in a press release.
This June, Ørsted’s two new projects offshore Changhua County, called Xufeng-2 and Xufeng-3, passed the preliminary review of the Environmental Protection Agency. It was anticipated that the company will compete in the first Round 3 auction to build these two offshore wind farms..
In August last year, Taiwanese Government finalised the allocation plan for its Round 3 offshore wind tenders, which will be procuring project development for wind farms scheduled to go online from 2026 to 2035, during which period a total of 15 GW of new capacity will be added.
The first phase of Round 3 tenders will be held for projects that will be put into operation in 2026/2027.