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FLOW is the way to go
24/1/2024
8 min read
Feature
Asia is ripe for the development of deepwater offshore wind – but hurdles lie in the way, reports Selwyn Parker. First, he looks at the challenges to be addressed by Taiwan’s renewable energy ambitions, then at the opportunities for some other Asia-Pacific nations.
Few would countenance the idea of installing floating offshore wind (FLOW) turbines in a potential war zone, however much the energy was needed. Yet it is the firm intention of Taiwan to locate most of its offshore wind power platforms in the 394 km-long Taiwan Strait, an international waterway where freedom of navigation and overflight are supposed to be guaranteed but over which China claims sovereignty.
Underlining that claim, China routinely sends warships and fighter planes as a demonstration of intent into the very area where the Taipei-based government of President Tsai Ing-wen, a strong supporter of renewables, needs to place the turbines as it pursues ambitious goals to end almost total reliance on fossil fuels. Currently, about 98% of Taiwan’s energy comes from oil and gas, and the government is anxious to change that.
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that geopolitical risk may be the most difficult hurdle for Taiwan to surmount in its long-term commitment to renewables. After all, mainland China is just 130 km across the Strait, which may be too close for comfort for some developers, investors and insurers of the floating installations on which Taiwan aims to rely.