Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration has said it will not drop its objection to WPD’s 350MW Guanyin offshore wind farm off the island’s north-west coast.
In a statement, the authority, which is unhappy over the project’s location close to the Taoyuan International Airport, said its research shows turbines impact on flight security.
The CAA said it is “regrettable” that the offshore wind industry has chosen to “ignore” the risk and added that its position “will not waiver”.
Taoyuan serves almost 50 million passengers a year and its status is “irreplaceable” for an island dependent on air travel, added the authority.
It “may make exceptions” if the impact on the facility can be completely eliminated but pointed out it has repeatedly objected to the siting of a wind farm off the Taoyuan coast.
“As a member of the government, the Civil Aviation Administration welcomes foreign friends to invest in Taiwan and participate in Taiwan’s energy transformation. However, this application is related to the life safety of tens of millions of Chinese and foreign travellers entering and exiting Taiwan.”
The statement was issued on Wednesday after a press conference was held by proponents of the project.
A WPD spokesman told journalists the CAA objection is a “big concern”, which is stopping the project from getting a permit.
“According to our experts we followed all rules and there is no reason for objecting to our wind farm from a safety aviation perspective,” the spokesman said, according to a video of the event posted online.
The company is “astonished” that the project could be stopped over the issue after signing key suppliers deals and lining up finance, he added.
“It’s a big concern for not only WPD but for investors and the banking community if one of the first offshore wind projects in Taiwan can fail that way.
“There are many investors…who are about to enter the Taiwan offshore market – they all have a big question mark right now.”
He added: “We hope that this project can find a solution.”
WPD was contacted for further comment on the press conference but has not responded at time of publication.