The headcount at Dong Energy’s Taipei office has grown to 18 from just two since it opened in July 2016 as interest in offshore wind takes root in Taiwan.
Dong said the office is growing by one or two people each month, with half the current staff local employees.
The Danish group, along with Swancor Renewable and Macquarie, is a shareholder in Taiwan’s 128MW Formosa 1 offshore wind farm, which is in the early stages of construction.
“We’re seeing an immense interest in our offshore wind power solutions,” Dong senior market developer Yichun Xu said.
“With an area of some 36,000 km2, Taiwan is smaller than Denmark. But the island is home to 23m people, and most of the island is covered by mountains and forests.”
Taiwan is adding more renewables to its energy mix as it phases out nuclear power, though Xu said the offshore wind industry there is still young.
“So we’re facing a big task of informing and teaching the market about offshore wind farms and how to integrate them in the overall energy mix and infrastructure,” she said.
Image: Swancor Renewable
