Total to Acquire Stake in 640 MW Offshore Wind Project in Taiwan
Planned to be completed in 2022, the project is anticipated to produce 2.4TWh of renewable electricity per year.
Total has reached an agreement with Germany-based wpd to acquire a 23% stake in Yunlin Holding, which owns the Yunlin offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Taiwan.
The offshore wind farm is currently owned by wpd with 48% stake, Electricity Generating Public Company (EGCO) with 25% stake and a consortium of Japanese investors owning remaining stake.
The consortium of Japanese investors is led by Sojitz and comprises ENEOS, Chugoku Electric Power, Chudenko and Shikoku Electric Power.
Under the terms of the agreement, Total will acquire the stake from wpd based on its share of past costs.
Total gas, renewables and power president Stéphane Michel said: “This agreement provides Total with an opportunity to gain a foothold in one of Asia’s main offshore wind markets and strengthens the Group’s position in this fast-growing segment, in line with its strategy of profitable development in renewables worldwide.
“Taiwan has been a pioneer in developing offshore wind power in Asia, and we are proud to contribute to the transformation of its energy mix. We are delighted to enter into this first partnership with wpd, one of the leading independent developers of offshore wind power.”
The Yunlin offshore wind farm, located around 200km southwest of Taipei, is currently under construction.
Yunlin is backed by a 20-year guaranteed-price power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state-owned company Taipower, at a price of $250/MWh for the first 10 years and $125/MWh afterwards.
Located around 10km offshore at water depths ranging between 7m and 35m, the wind farm will comprise 80 wind turbines with a unit capacity of 8MW.
Planned to be completed in 2022, the project is anticipated to produce 2.4TWh of renewable electricity per year, which is adequate to serve the power needs of 605,000 households.
The acquisition, which is subject to government approval, is expected to expand Total’s portfolio of offshore wind projects under development and construction.
Total’s gross power generation capacity worldwide stood at around 12GW at the end of 2020. The capacity included 7GW of renewable energy.
The company targets to expand its production capacity from renewable sources to 100GW by 2030.
Source: nsenergybusiness
