An investment case on offshore wind energy in Taiwan

The worldwide offshore wind market has been growing rapidly over the recent years and also the Taiwanese government has announced to rely more on offshore wind power as future energy source. The goal of this paper is to evaluate if an investment in offshore wind energy in Taiwan is worthwhile. This has been done by analyzing the development of the world energy market and the recent growth in renewable energies. Furthermore, the essential steps of the development of an offshore wind farm and the lifecycle were overviewed. Based on this information, together with an analysis of relevant factors regarding the development of an offshore wind farm in Taiwan, a profitability analysis was performed. Statistical data and experience from European offshore wind projects was taken as a benchmark for the calculations. The results show that despite some risk due to natural disasters and the immaturity of offshore wind industry in Taiwan, an investment in an offshore wind farm seems to be a very attractive choice under current conditions. From the two subsidy options offered by the Taiwanese government, the splitted feed-in tariff plan, with higher payments in the first 10 years and lower payments in the following 10 years, is clearly the better option for potential investors