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UK and Taiwan Share Experience and Expertise on Renewable Energy

UK and Taiwan share experience on renewable energy ahead of Taiwan’s pilot offshore wind turbines entering operation by end of this year

Offshore WInd Workshop

A trade and technology mission from the UK visits Taiwan from 30 May to 1 June to share the UK’s experience on renewable energy, especially on the offshore wind energy industry. With the largest ever number of UK renewable energy delegates to Taiwan, this mission is the first major event of the British Office’s 6-month “GREEN is GREAT” campaign, which kicked off on Earth Day (22 April) for a greener life, linked to climate, sustainability, businesses and individuals.

15 UK companies and 22 delegates are attending the 11th “UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Conference” today (30 May), sharing their extensive expertise on renewable energy. This delegation is led by Mr Huub den Rooijen, Director of Energy, Minerals & Infrastructure of The Crown Estate. The Conference is in collaboration with the Bureau of Energy of Ministry of Economic Affairs, covering a wide range of subjects from cross government working, project insurance, marine engineering, geotechnical survey, risk assessment, operation and maintenance. As Taiwan will have three offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 300MW by 2020, one Memorandum of Understanding is also signed at the Conference today, showing the deeper collaboration and mutual commitment between the UK and Taiwan for delivering successful offshore wind development in Taiwan. UK’s CWind Ltd also announced the formation of CWind Taiwan Ltd through a joint venture. During the 3-day visit, the delegation will also meet officials from Taiwan Power Company and key Taiwanese developers in the renewable energy industry in Taipei and Kaohsiung.

At the same time and in light of the new Taiwanese administration’s emphasis on innovation-based industrial development, including green energy, a UK Science and Innovation Network Offshore Wind Technology delegation will visit Taiwan to explore the potential for scientific and technological collaborations with leading Taiwanese research institutions. This delegation will focus on offshore wind innovation and research and will meet key research teams that are participating in Taiwan’s National Energy Progamme to explore collaboration opportunities with Taiwan, including via the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The delegation will also meet with the new CEO of the National Energy Programme, Professor Yang Jing-tang. These UK delegates are from the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde and the Carbon Trust.

The UK was the first country in the world to adopt statutory emission reduction targets, which require the Government to reduce emissions by 80% of the 1990 level by 2050 (Climate Change Act 2008). As part of the green industry, the UK has taken a 3.7% share of the global market for green goods and services. This puts the UK in sixth place globally. The UK believes that technology innovation can create economic growth.

The UK is already the world leader in offshore wind, with 5GW of capacity operating today, the largest in the world with continuous emphasis on technological innovation. The UK is currently managing 28 offshore wind projects with 1,465 turbines with a total of 7.5GW of capacity by end of this year and 10GW by 2020, by which point offshore wind will supply between 8 and 10 percent of the UK’s electricity annually. Renewable energy is a remarkable economic driver in the UK, more than 1 million jobs have so far been created in renewable energy and the total industry is worth £117 billion. The UK is also one of the world’s most attractive countries to invest in renewable energy projects.

Published 30 May 2016