The Four-year Wind Power Promotion Plan (2017-2020) is part of an effort by the Taiwan government to transform and rebuild the nation's energy sector around energy security, the green economy and environmental sustainability, with the overarching goal of phasing out nuclear power and increasing renewable resources to 20 percent of the nation's energy portfolio by 2025.
The plan is expected in the short term to solidify industry foundations by increasing installed wind power capacity to 1.334 gigawatts (GW) over four years. In the medium-to-long term, it will address the root causes of Taiwan's energy challenges, improve the installation environment, and raise installed capacity to 6.9 GW (1.2 GW on land and 5.7 GW offshore) by 2025. These efforts will promote energy diversification and self-sufficiency, spur domestic demand and job growth, and create a friendly environment for wind energy development.
Principles and objectives
◆ Land-based wind power: For projects and cases that have been approved for development, the plan will give priority assistance to proactive local governments and promote the more viable sites. The objective for 2017 through 2020 is to raise total land-based installed capacity to approximately 814 megawatts (MW).
◆ Offshore wind power: The principle for offshore development is to develop demonstration sites first, then potential sites, then entire zones. The government will also provide subsidy assistance and awards to demonstration facilities, and direct efforts to convert potential sites into full-scale wind farms. The goal by 2020 is to install approximately 520 MW of offshore capacity.
Expected benefits (of installing 5.7 GW offshore wind capacity by 2025)
◆ Lower carbon emissions: Offshore facilities will generate 21.5 billion kilowatt-hours of energy each year, cutting carbon emissions by 11.92 million metric tons annually.
◆ Higher industrial output: The industry will generate NT$1.8 trillion (US$58.4 billion) in output value.
◆ More jobs: Some 20,000 job opportunities will be created.
◆ Higher investments: The projects will spur investments of NT$1 trillion (US$32.4 billion).