New Industrial Union To Tap Wind-Power Market

The state-run Taiwan Power Co. and firms from Denmark, Germany, and Japan, have invested in wind power in Taiwan, and now they are to be joined by four private domestic companies that have formed a "Taiwan Wind Power Industry R&D Union" to tap this potentially lucrative market.

The four members of the new union are Chin Fong Machinery Co., the island's largest maker of pressing machines; Teco Electric & Machinery Co., a manufacturer of heavy electric machinery; Lih Kang Industrial Co., which produces steel structures; and Along Composites Inc., which focuses on making composite materials.

The four companies plan to set aside NT$10 billion (US$315.5 million at NT$31.7:US$1) for the construction of 50 large grid-type wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 100 million watts in the sea off Taichung Harbor in central Taiwan. The wind turbines are expected to become a new landmark for the area.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) applies liberal rules for the establishment of wind-power companies, so long as they can find appropriate sites for their generators and can meet the relevant environmental impact assessment requirements.

A new company to be established by the members of the union is expected to complete the development of the first locally made generating unit to be used in a commercial wind generator by the end of 2010.

Involvement of Academic and Research Institutions

Government agencies along with academic and research institutions have joined the four private companies in forming the new union, including the MOEA's Department of Industrial Technology, Industrial Development Bureau, and Energy Commission, as well as the Chien Kuo University of Technology, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Metal Industries Research & Development Center, and Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology.

The Taiwan Wind Power Industry R&D Union is to begin seeking technological cooperation partners at the beginning of next year, and the four domestic industrial partners will split up the work in a division of labor: Chin Fong will be in charge of the development of accelerator gears and the integration of system control for the large wind-generation unit; Teco will be responsible for the development of power conversion and power generating units, Lih Kang will handle the development of electricity pylons and technology for plant construction in the sea, and Along will develop the turbine blades.

The resulting wind-generating units, according to the MOEA, will contribute 2.15 million kilowatts--35% of Taiwan's total renewable-energy output-in 2010. To help domestic companies gain control of the business opportunities resulting from the demand for wind-generating units, the Industrial Development Bureau has worked out a "renewable energy equipment industry promotion plan" aimed at establishing a localized supply chain for the relevant equipment.

The MOEA reports that the union will apply for participation in build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects involving the construction of more windmills in the offshore Changpin Industrial Zone in Changhua County and offshore at Mailiao, Yunlin County. The total capacity of these wind-generation projects will be 3.6 million watts.

Farther in the future, the union aims to export whole-plant technology and equipment to rising wind-power markets in mainland China, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.