Taiwan’s Swancor Renewable Energy has entered into a joint venture with Shizen Energy to develop offshore wind farms off Japan’s Kyushu region.
The new company will combine Swancor Renewable Energy’s “technological strengths and experience” in Taiwan, which has geological similarities to Japan’s sea area, and Shizen Energy’s “developmental strengths in introducing renewable energy that embraces local conditions”.
Japan’s offshore wind market is gaining momentum following the Japanese government’s goal of promoting the introduction of renewable energy and the passage of the Act of Promoting Utilization of Sea Areas in Development of Power Generation Facilities Using Maritime Renewable Energy Resources.
In 2018, the Japanese government set a goal of increasing the share of renewable energy generation to 22-24% by 2030, and in 2021 increased this target to 36-38% by further strengthening measures.
This goal also includes plans to introduce 10GW of wind power, including both offshore and onshore.
Swancor Renewable Energy began developing the first offshore wind project in Taiwan in 2012 and has been involved in the development of a cumulative total of approximately 5000MW of projects, including construction, operation and maintenance.
In addition, the Formosa 1 project, which went into operation in 2019, is the sole offshore wind farm currently operating in Taiwan.
Unlike the waters of Europe, where offshore wind power has been developing for many years, Japan’s waters are geologically challenging, and the effects of typhoons must be taken into account.
Taiwan’s waters are very similar in this respect, and the experience and knowledge that Swancor Renewable Energy has built up over the years will be applied to the Japanese offshore wind market.
Shizen Energy has a track record of developing approximately 1GW of renewable energy power plants in Japan, and its portfolio has expanded from solar to onshore and offshore wind, hydro, and biomass.
In the field of offshore wind power, Shizen Energy has been involved in efforts to introduce offshore wind power in Japan from an early stage, starting with its participation in a zoning project in 2016 and engaging in offshore wind power development off the coast of Chiba Prefecture.
Lucas Lin, CEO of Swancor Renewable Energy, said: “We are very excited about the partnership with Shizen Energy.
“To participate in Japan’s offshore wind development will not only open a window of opportunity for us to realise our ideal of exploring overseas markets, collaborate with international partners to promote renewable energy in a joint manner, but is also an important step towards expanding diverse, bilateral exchanges and cooperation between Japan and Taiwan.”