Executive urges action to prevent gap in Taiwan's offshore wind projects

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) A potential lull in Taiwan's offshore wind development from 2031 to 2033 could disrupt investment and erode the marine engineering capacity built up over the past decade, an industry executive said Thursday.

Robert Tseng (曾國正), chairman of CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering Co. (CDWE), urged the government to move quickly on its next round of offshore wind projects to ensure continuity for developers, suppliers and marine engineering companies.

It appears that there may be a "gap in 2031, 2032 and 2033, and we should not allow it to last that long," Tseng said at an energy transition forum in Taipei.

"The government should launch the next round quickly so that developers, suppliers and engineering companies can keep moving forward," he said.

According to Tseng, Taiwan's marine engineering industry comprises dozens of companies that have invested in purchasing, building, and modifying offshore wind construction and support vessels rather than serving only as agents for foreign technology.

Currently, about 120 Taiwan-flagged construction and support vessels operate in the country, with the number continuing to grow, he said.

However, Taiwan still does not have enough specialized vessels to assemble a complete offshore wind installation fleet, Tseng said. Developing 1.5-2 gigawatts of capacity annually would require two to three such fleets, he said.

CDWE was established in 2019 as a joint venture between Taiwan's CSBC Corp. and Belgium-based DEME Offshore to accelerate the transfer of marine engineering capabilities to Taiwan.

The company subsequently commissioned Green Jade, a US$318 million (NT$10 billion) vessel equipped with a 4,000-ton crane for installing foundations, turbines and offshore substations.

Tseng said CDWE had participated in eight Taiwanese wind projects and recently completed foundation and turbine installation work for the Hai Long 2 and 3 wind farms.

After finishing part of that work ahead of schedule, the company used a two-month opening to install 22 jacket foundations for Taiwan Power Co.'s second offshore wind project, which Tseng cited as evidence of the importance of maintaining domestic engineering capacity.

In 2025, CDWE was ranked fourth globally -- excluding China -- for fixed-bottom offshore wind installation workload and first in jacket foundation installation, according to Tseng.

He said the capabilities developed through offshore wind projects could also support subsea cables and pipelines, offshore substations, carbon capture and storage, and other marine infrastructure.

"Autonomous and comprehensive marine engineering capabilities are most important to support Taiwan's continued development," Tseng said.

"They can support development in areas ranging from the low-carbon and net-zero transitions to AI and marine industries," he added.

Taiwan's offshore wind plan for 2026-2039 identifies an additional 15-18 GW of developable capacity, which would bring cumulative capacity to 24.7-27.9 GW by 2039.

Continued project development would encourage further investment and allow Taiwan's marine engineering sector to support broader energy security and net-zero goals, Tseng said.