BlueFloat Energy eyes Taiwan offshore wind entry with 1GW-plus project

Spanish developer BlueFloat Energy is eyeing an entry into the Taiwanese offshore wind market with a bid in the country’s forthcoming third tender round.

Its planned 1GW-plus Winds of September project is named after the strong winds that blow in the northern Hsinchu region every September, it explained.

The Winds of September project would be built 25km off the coast of Hsinchu county in a 125km² area in water depths of 70-80 metres – necessitating the use of floating platforms.

Taiwan has awarded about 5.5GW of offshore wind capacity across two rounds, and is due to auction a further 15GW in the coming years.

RWE and Iberdrola have also announced their intentions to enter the country’s upcoming tender rounds.

BlueFloat also announced the hire of a new country manager for Taiwan: Michael Pinkerton, who has previously helped to develop renewable energy projects for Swancor Renewable Energy – an early mover in Taiwanese offshore wind – and Macquarie Group.

The Spanish company is developing a 22GW pipeline of offshore wind projects in Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Spain, Italy, the UK, France and now Taiwan.