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Natural Power advises Japanese investors on Taiwan purchase

By: Tom Russell 17/04/2019 Natural Power

General Windfarms

Renewable energy consultancy and service provider Natural Power has acted as technical advisor to a consortium of Japanese investors led by Sojitz Corporation (Sojitz) regarding the acquisition of equity in the Yunlin offshore wind farm. The project is to be constructed 8km from the coast in the Taiwan strait, and will consist of 80 SGRE SG 8.0-167 DD turbines in the 8MW class.

On 5 April 2019, 4C reported the acquisition, which saw a consortium of Sojitz, Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc., Chudenko Corporation, Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc. and JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation acquire a 27 percent stake in the Taiwanese project. The transaction will see Sojitz and its consortium participate as a co-owner in the project right through construction and into operations. The project will sell power to Taiwan Power Company over a 20-year term with a feed-in tariff scheme under Taiwan’s Renewable Energy Development Act.

Kotaro Kato, Project Coordinator, Sojitz Corporation, said: “This represents Sojitz’s first entry into offshore wind and we believe that offshore wind power has the greatest potential for growth in Japan in years to come. This investment represents the first expansion of the company’s renewable energy business into offshore.

“Through participation in this project, Sojitz not only achieves immediate investment objectives but also acquires the expertise to contribute to the expansion of offshore wind industry domestically in years to come.”

The start of offshore construction works for Yunlin is scheduled for March 2020. With a total capacity of 640 MW, the project is one of largest offshore wind farms that is being developed in Taiwan. It will be built 8km from the coast in the Taiwan strait and consist of 80 SGRE SG 8.0-167 DD turbines in the 8MW class.

Half of the turbines are scheduled to be commissioned by 2020 and the other half in 2021, subject to financial close. The purpose of this project is to alleviate power shortages resulting from the scheduled shutdown of several nuclear power plants.

Kotaro continues: “Given this was our first investment in offshore, we were heavily reliant on our technical advisor, Natural Power, and were delighted with the expertise, knowledge and support throughout the acquisition – ultimately leading to a successful transaction for Sojitz and WPD.”

Paul Concannon, Senior Project Manager in Natural Power’s Dublin office, acted as Lead Technical Advisor to Sojitz and its consortium for the transaction. He said: “We were delighted to support Sojitz on this exciting investment and to be active in the Taiwanese offshore market since mid-2018. This is a burgeoning market and to be working to support the first-mover projects in what is a new industry for Taiwan, is really exciting and has led to an increasing presence for Natural Power in the market.”

For more information on the Japanese offshore wind market, click here. Alternatively, you can view projects worldwide on 4C Offshore's interactive map.

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Natural Power advises Japanese investors on Taiwan purchase

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