BlueFloat Energy Propels Offshore Wind Projects Forward In Taiwan

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BlueFloat Energy, a prominent player in the field of floating offshore wind, made an exciting announcement in May 2022 about its entry into the Taiwanese market. Taiwan leads in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of planning and implementation of offshore wind — starting as early as 12 years ago — and is mapping how to grow its wind-powered energy grid.

Its ambitious project, called Winds of September, is set to harness the offshore wind power potential off the coast of Hsinchu, boasting an impressive capacity of up to 1 GW.

As BlueFloat Energy renews its commitment to Taiwan, the company emphasizes its near-term focus on a floating wind farm demonstration project while expressing continued interest in developing large-scale floating offshore wind ventures.

These efforts align with Taiwan’s ambitious net-zero goals. In its 2022 Net-Zero Emissions report, the plan is to produce 60% of its total energy via renewable sources, with 40 GW from wind sources by 2050. BlueFloat’s commitment will help the island nation meet at least 50% of its targets by 2035.

Taiwan Visit

During a recent visit to Taiwan, BlueFloat Energy’s CEO, Carlos Martin, had the privilege of meeting Minister Wang Mei-Hua of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. This meeting signified a significant step forward in BlueFloat Energy’s endeavors in the Taiwanese market.

Encouraged by the Taiwanese government’s vision of deploying floating offshore wind as a catalyst for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, Carlos Martin seized the opportunity to visit Taiwan. Alongside meeting Minister Wang Mei-Hua, he also shared his insights at the WFO Asia Pacific Summit in Taipei, emphasizing BlueFloat Energy’s commitment to unlocking the potential of floating wind in this thriving market.

“We highly value Taiwan as our primary market in Asia. We eagerly anticipate the announcement of selection guidelines for the demonstration floating wind project, enabling offshore wind players like BlueFloat Energy to utilize our expertise in advancing the emerging floating wind sector in Taiwan. This demonstration project serves as a crucial stepping stone toward the realization of a large-scale commercial floating wind farm in Taiwan,” Carlos Martin said in a press statement.

Winds of September in June

Taiwan, renowned for its pioneering role in energy transition within the APAC region, continues to lead the way by expediting Floating Wind Demonstration Projects. Michael Pinkerton, the Country Manager of BlueFloat Energy Taiwan, highlighted Taiwan’s strategic advantage in testing various floating technologies in its waters at the earliest opportunity. This approach allows for assessing logistics, infrastructure, supply chain readiness, and the suitability of Taiwan’s ports for quayside activities. Such meticulous planning will pave the way for the development of extensive commercial floating wind farms in the future.

The Winds of September project, situated approximately 25 kilometers offshore from Hsinchu, encompasses a vast area of over 125 square kilometers. With water depths ranging from 64 to 96 meters, this location was previously inaccessible for traditional bottom-fixed foundations. However, floating wind technology, already proven successful in several European countries, holds the key to unlocking these untapped sea areas, enabling Taiwan to maintain its leading position in offshore wind development within the region.

BlueFloat Energy, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, boasts a team with extensive expertise in floating wind farm development and construction. The company receives strong financial support from 547 Energy and Quantum Energy Partners, both based in the United States.

BlueFloat has built a reputation for itself of being an agile and rapidly expanding offshore wind developer that plays a pivotal role in shaping the global energy transformation, introducing scalable decarbonization solutions to new markets. It has a specific focus on floating wind technologies in its portfolio.

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With a strong foothold as a global leader in floating offshore wind, BlueFloat received the esteemed “Offshore Wind Developer of the Year (2023)” by Tamarindo, a global expert providing intelligence, connections and expertise “to inspire investment and accelerate the pace of the global energy transition.”

Currently, BlueFloat Energy is actively engaged in developing offshore wind power projects in nine different locations worldwide, with a remarkable total installed capacity of 24.6 GW. This includes a promising pipeline of 20 GW dedicated to floating offshore wind farms. Notably, the Winds of September project in Taiwan has successfully deployed a floating LiDAR system to collect crucial meteorological parameters, such as wind, wave, and current data, informing wind resource assessment and floater/mooring design.